The Seven Nations The Dagger of Agartha
by BlueDaylighter
Summary: 19 years after the fall of You-Know-Who, Albus Potter and his friends are just starting Hogwarts, ready for a new and exciting year. But that's not the only thing; foreign exchange students are sent over as part of an international peace treaty to improve relations. But when curiosity kills the cat, the children realize that there is much more at stake then the safety of Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1 - Albus

Chapter 1 - Albus

"Why are they all staring?" demanded Albus, as he and Rose craned around to look at the other students.

"Don't let it worry you," said Mr. Weasley. "It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Albus, Rose, Hugo and Lily laughed. The train began to move under Albus' feet, and he watched his father walk alongside it, smiling and waving, and Albus did the same as the wheels picked up speed. The train rounded the bend of the tracks, and he lost sight of his family, a little sadness mixing in with the elation. Albus bit his lip, a habit of which he did when he was nervous. James immediately noticed this.

"You're not going to get glum on me now," scolded James. "You're going to Hogwarts, the most wondrous and terrible place on Earth!" He spread his arms like a ringmaster announcing the next act and gave a toothy grin.

"Oh, don't exaggerate, James," Rose snapped. "It's not all as grand and scary as he makes it out to be, Albus, you'll be alright. Mum told me."

"'Not all as grand and scary'?" the older boy repeated in mock horror. "Constantly changing staircases! Toppling over as they sweep through the air! Sentient suits of armor, feel their gaze everywhere you go!"

"Do you even know what sentient means?" Rose rebuked.

"And don't forget," he added conspiratorially, ignoring Rose, "the slimy, clawed, far-reaching tentacles of the giant squid! The sharp, bloody fangs of the werewolves, hear them howl! _Awooooooooo_!"

"Shut it, James!" Rose scolded.

Albus sank into the red cushions and stared out the window; stormy skies poured rain into jade forests, droplets resembling liquid diamond streaking across the glass.

"I'm starving, when does the snack cart arrive?"

Rose glanced at her watch. "In a while, probably. Mum told me that Dad, Uncle Harry and her had to wait quite a while."

"Is there anything your Mum _didn't_ tell you?" James grumbled. "How come Dad never told me any of this stuff?"

At that moment, quite a bit of loud chattering could be heard outside their compartment. Albus strained to hear. It went something like this:

"D'you think there are any free compartments here?"

"Maybe…"

"Shut up, Dopey, it's your fault we don't have one!"

"Hey!"

"Yeah, Dopey, if you hadn't got stuck so many times trying to get through the barrier…"

"Who does that anyways? I mean, it's a _wall_, that prevents _Customaries _from getting in."

"I do! I'm sorry, okay, look, there's space here…"

A nervous looking girl with dirty blond hair tied up neatly slid open the frosted-glass door. "Er, sorry, would you please let us sit here? There's no other space anywhere else on the train...um, it's alright if you don't want us to, I –"

"If you don't let us sit here I'll drag you to hell and back," called a female voice from behind her.

James blushed at the blonde and quickly said, "Oh. Of course, I could never turn down anyone as beautiful as you."

The girl, rather than looking pleased, frowned and said, "You don't mean that, do you? You're just making fun of me."

"No, no, of course I…"

The blonde sighed and sat next to Rose and Albus.

"I'm Sophia Walker, and that's Hannah and –"

"I'm immortal," interrupted the girl with short black hair.

Sophia cleared her throat. "She's Caroline."

"James, love, and this is my brother Albus and my cousin Rose," James informed them, sweeping his arms, gesturing for Sophia, Caroline and Hannah to sit. "I'm in the third year, and Albus and Rose here are just starting. I'm assuming you're all just starting too?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't rip your throat out, with a variety of weapons," The black haired girl Sophie had called 'Caroline' growled. "Just because we're friggin' starting again here…"

"Err, okay then…" Rose said, uncomfortably, turning to James. "James, don't you think Sophie is a little too young to be hitting on?"

"What?" James said, outraged. "She's only two years younger!"

"That's exactly my point," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "And she's eleven."

"But… but, some of the other girls I've snogged are eleven!" James protested.

"Ew, that is _disgusting_, James," Rose said, recoiling. "And you just met Sophia. Please just act your age, will you? Act like you're actually a teenager!"

"Rose," Sophie reassured gently. "Can I call you that? It's okay, I don't believe him, anyways."

"See?" Rose said, smugly. "Not every girl falls for your so called charm. In fact, did you even tell your mum you've already snogged girls? At eleven at that?"

James suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Er… Rose, you wouldn't!"

Rose looked very reluctant, but she loosened up. "Fine, James, but you owe me. You're lucky you're my cousin."

"Albus…"

"I won't, James," Albus said, hastily. He didn't want to face his wrath of his older brother, but this could be a very useful bargaining tool for later. "I won't tell mum, nor dad."

"Oh!" Sophia exclaimed, jumping up. "I almost forgot. Hannah, Caroline, we have to change into our robes."

Hannah arched an eyebrow. "Robes? Robes? What is this, the 1600's?"

"Oh, c'mon, Hannah," Sophie said, desperately trying to get her to stand up. "They can't be that bad. Look, Rose, Albus and James are wearing them."

"Actually, contrary to that belief, Dopey," Caroline began. "They're weird. We're weirder. Weird and weirder don't mix."

"Just, please, get into the robes," Sophia said, pleading.

"Fine, Dopey," Caroline said, rolling her eyes. "The things I do for this weird school."

Hannah soon followed, leaving Sophia alone. "Erm, sorry for my friends. They're really nice when you get to know them, though. Caroline's a bit violent and Hannah's a bit demanding but other than that…"

"SOPHIA!"

"I've got to go," Sophia said hastily. "See you at the castle?"

James nodded quickly, Rose smiled and Albus gave a small nod. He wasn't sure what to make of these strange students.

"Did you notice their accent?" Rose pounced as soon as Sophia closed the door. "I mean, I didn't want to say anything offending, so I kept my mouth shut, but I'm pretty sure their accents aren't European."

"Who cares?" James said, dreamily.

"Caroline will probably murder you in your sleep," Rose said haughtily. "She's quite fierce, isn't she?"

"If you're right, Rose, what are foreigners doing here?" Albus wondered.

"I have no idea," Rose shook her head. "There's suppose to be some really old prejudice against the continents. Maybe they're using the accents to try to fool us?"

"Why would they do that?" James instantly defended Sophia. "And wouldn't it be a pain in the arse?"

"Language, James," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "I'll tell Uncle Harry about that."

Someone knocked on the door and slid it open. The knocker was revealed to be a sweet-looking woman leaning on a cart emblazoned with 'BERTIE BOTT'S EVERY-FLAVOR BEANS'. "Can I get you anything?"

They rifled through their pockets for money and scrambled to turn it in for candies, purchasing heaps of chocolate frogs, mounds of sugar quills and two boxes of the Every-Flavor beans, because, let's face it, those are scary.

"Hey, have you read the papers yet?" inquired the trolley lady.

James shook his head. "No, anything important?"

She handed him a copy. "Read it and find out. It's quite interesting. Have a good day!"

Rose peered at the large bold title. "'Worldwide Ministries Agree to International Education Exchange'? You'd better read this out to all of us…"

**WORLDWIDE MINISTRIES AGREE TO INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION EXCHANGE:**

**MINISTRIES DECIDE TO PUT ASIDE OLD PREJUDICES**

**By Eulalie Jerusho**

_In an attempt to further strengthen bonds between countries, Britain proposed the International Education Exchange Project last Wednesday. Its primary purpose is for three major schools of all seven continents to send trusted and tested eleven-year-old academics from each school to other continents in a schedule. You may be asking yourself, why? Which I reply with, have you been living under a rock? _

_No, I kid you, my valued readers. Allow me to go over a brief history lesson: Each continent has used its own unique brand of magic since 1395, when it was decided so schools could teach one specialized (or generalized, in the case of Europe and N. America) realm of magic rather than seven, all of which have varied branches within themselves. They are assigned like this:_

_Europe: Wands, obviously!_

_North America: Channeled through the body, e.g. the hands or eyes. Reportedly, easier to summon, but less immediately powerful._

_South America: The students have a choice of a wide range of aspects (list undisclosed.) They may choose one, and their magic varies greatly depending on the aspect chosen._

_Asia: The language of magic; both spoken and written. Incantations and runes are used. Cards are a starting beginners base. _

_Oceania: Enhanced senses plus physical & mental capabilities._

_Africa: The branch of healing, applied through various charms, potions, incantations, runes, etc._

_Antarctica: Communication with life forms like animals, plants, fungi and humans._

_Paranoia, secrecy and division have led to each realm of magic being obscured from those who know the others! And, so, leading to the proposal of the International Education Exchange Program._

"_We believe that in this time period, after the vanquishing of so much evil and mistrust it is ever more vital to re-establish relations. And how better to do so, than to knock down unnecessary barriers?" said Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt._

_The three student representatives, who will be sent without guardians as a sign of trust (for controversy over this decision see page 3) to a specially chosen school that is not providing a representative for each continent. There, they shall research and learn some of the magic of said school while they learn their country's magic during the summer. The schools and representatives are as follows below:_

_Europe_

_Host School:_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Representatives:_

_Theodore Lang from Austria_

_Odette Andersen from Denmark_

_Yavanna Abukuvmo from Russia_

_North America_

_Host School:_

_Strongfellow Institute_

_Representatives:_

_Sophia Walker from Canada_

_Hannah Stewart from Mexico_

_Caroline Lawson from the U. S. A_

_South America_

_Host School:_

_Loriumm Collegiate of Aspects and Magic_

_Representatives:_

_Derrick González from Argentina_

_Brian Torres from Paraguay_

_Felix Vidal from Peru_

_Asia_

_Host School:_

_Xiaoqing Academy of the Language of Magic_

_Representatives:_

_Adrianna Park from Korea_

_Erizabesu Makimoto from Japan_

_Leon Bishara from Lebanon_

_Africa_

_Host School:_

_The School of Babalu-Aye_

_Representatives:_

_Paul Okar from Kenya_

_Irene Jang from Nigeria_

_Oliver Soyinka from Uganda_

_Oceania_

_Host School:_

_Marvelous Institution of Enhancement by Magical Means_

_Representatives:_

_Miles Harris from Canberra, Australia_

_Willow Jones from Fiji_

_Gerald King from Tasmania, Australia_

_Antarctica_

_Host School:_

_Antarktikos Academy_

_Representatives:_

_Jasmine de Palma from Athene City_

_Kayla Jenson from Loki City_

_Nyle Simons from Mars City_

_The order of exchange students arriving at Hogwarts will follow in this pattern: N. American, Asian, S. American, Australian, African and Antarctica. Now, I did mention that Britain only proposed this, right? Aww, I guess stating the names gave it away. Yes, the other nations agreed in a near unanimous vote! (The title was a bit of a spoiler too.) Today shall be the first day of a world-changing project. The Prophet will be watching closely, and waiting._

_Contact Eulalie Jerusho at… _

"Sophia Walker?" wondered Albus. "Then...?"

"Wasn't that the girl…?" Rose gaped at the compartment door. "And the other two…"

"Well, I guess we'll be meeting them at Hogwarts," Rose sighed and picks up a book. "No wonder they had accents."

"D'you think dad knew about this?" Albus asked James. Dad would've told him… right?

"I'm not sure, Al," James sighed. "Something I've learned is that adults like to keep their secrets."

Albus shut his mouth after that and took the moment to watch out the window, where the rainfall had developed into a raging thunderstorm. Rain furiously shot past them, lightning flashed and thunder roared. He remembered what James had told him earlier;

"In your first year, you'll be rowing to the castle while everyone else rides the carriages. There's quite a bit or distance to cover, and the waters are rough, so I'd imagine you arriving on a rainy day would not bode well for you. Bad on your part."

He sighed. Hadn't James also said something about vicious kelpies living in the lake? A giant squid? Oh, joy.

* * *

"FIRS' YEARS OVER 'ERE! FIRS' YEARS, WITH ME!" boomed an enormous dark silhouette, voice rough and deep. The sky flashed, illuminating briefly a shaggy beard and beady eyes.

"That's Hagrid," said James confidently. "Go on, off you trot. You know we're supposed to take the carriages."

"OI, HAGRID!" James bellowed over the gunfire sounds of rain and rumbling thunder.

Hagrid turned to him, his giant face crinkling into a grin.

Albus whimpered.

"JAMES! BIN A WHILE SINCE I SAW YEH, EH? THAT'D BE YER BROTHER ALBUS, THEN! WOULD THAT BE YER COUSIN ROSE? NICE TER MEET YEH, I TAUGHT YER PARENTS! 'ERE, YEH CAN SHARE A BOAT WITH SCORPIUS 'ERE! ROSE CAN SHARE A BOAT WITH THESE GIRLS."

Scorpius? Albus thought. Oh, he must be the Malfoy boy. Dad said to stay away from him, but he doesn't seem all bad...

Scorpius sneered. Never mind. He mouthed a _9-9-9 _to Rose, but she just shrugged. He climbed into the rowboat, followed by a nervous Sophia. Albus opened his mouth to question her.

However, Hagrid stopped her, leaning close so he didn't need to yell. "Nah, yeh'd be one o' them foreign students, righ'? Yeh'll git teh Hogwarts by carriage."

Albus glimpsed his smiling older brother beckoning her, and Sophia disappearing after him.

"RIGHT THEN, FIRS' YEARS ROW AN' FOLLOW ME!"

Albus took his paddles and rowed alongside another blond pigtailed girl, while Scorpius leisurely lounged on his end and idly chatted to his friends in other boats. What a brat.

The waves and wind tossed their tiny vessel to and fro, when suddenly a combination of the two lifted him and the girl high in the air, momentarily airborne in one awe-filled moment before they crashed through the black, stormy waters. The dark murkiness and swirling silt obscured Albus' vision and hearing, his world a tumult of chaos as he tried to untangle himself from his heavy school robes, dragging him down and he couldn't hold his breath any longer – was this it? A stream of bubbles spewed from his mouth, a rush of saltiness filling his lungs, and then – yes – something smooth and long wrapped around him, lifting him out of the quiet death of the lake into the raucous storm above, onto his boat. The girl, soaked but unscathed, pounded the water out of his lungs while Scorpius sniffed and inspected his fingernails.

"Well aren't you nice?" the girl huffed. "Show some concern, will you?"

"Why would I show respect to the Golden Boy's son?" sneered Scorpius. "What do I care if he dies?"

"He's a human being just like you are!" the girl exclaimed angrily. "He's got just as much right as you do!"

Albus looked at the girl defending him. She seemed oddly familiar, perhaps he had seen her at the station? When he tried to make eye-contact with her, she looked away.

"Oh-h, c'mon, boys," she said, sighing. "Let's row. I don't want to be stuck in the rain forever. Look what it's doing to my hair."

And row they did. Albus mused to himself how one person could be so kind then so dictator-like the next.

"Row!" the girl ordered. "Row!"

"Care to help us?" Scorpius grumbled.

The girl smiled sweetly. "No, dearie. The castle's only a bit away. Come on, you can do it."

When they reached the castle, every one of the first years were soaked to the bone, and Albus shivered his way to the main entrance. The girl that helped him was out of sight and Albus had no idea where she could've gone to.

"Erm, Scorpius, do you know where the girl went?" he asked, uncomfortably. He didn't feel quite friendly with Scorpius and asking a question made him nervous.

"How could I bloody well know?" Scorpius snapped and strode away, right into Hogwarts.

"Nice meeting you too," Albus grumbled, and stormed into the Entrance Hall.

* * *

"Did you see the newspaper article?" He heard excited voices through the heavy oak doors. "Apparently, foreign wizards have come, and they will until our seventh year! How lucky is that?"

"Yeah, North Americans," Albus craned his head to hear other people's input. "The news says they can do magic without a wand, but their magic is a tad weaker than ours."

"Magic without a wand?" scoffed another student. "Who's ever heard of that?"

"North Americans," the second voice answered. "Yet, it's pretty absurd."

"Why are they coming to Hogwarts?"

Albus, tired of all the commotion, rubbed his fingers to his temples. _What was such the big deal about a couple of foreign students?_ He wanted to find Rose, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Are you Harry Potter's son?" a short boy with freckles asked him.

_Oh, great_, Albus thought, trying to make an excuse. "No, erm, I'm not. I – I have to go."

_I suck at lying_, he sulked. Was he only going to be known as 'Harry Potter's son'? What's the point of going to Hogwarts when you're going to be judged by people because of your parents' amazing accomplishments?

As the entrance of Hogwarts swung open, Albus noticed many looks of sympathy thrown the first years way, mainly because they were dripping wet. The first years dragged a puddle (sorry, lake) through the grand hall, and a teacher fixed that by the wave of her wand. A small chorus of thank you's were heard.

Albus saw Professor Longbottom clearing his throat and beginning. The hat sang its song, though his stomach was so intensely tied up in knots he could barely concentrate. Albus heard Professor Longbottom speak again, and he struggled to focus on his words.

"Aaron, Kelly!"

A petite girl with mousy, brown hair shook as she walked up to the Sorting Hat, which almost immediately called out; "HUFFLEPUFF!" before moving on.

"Abood, William!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

This droned on for quite some time before it reached Albus' name.

"Potter, Albus!"

There was dead silence as Albus marched, trembling to the Sorting hat.

"Harry Potter's son, eh?" the hat whispered, but it was so quiet in the Grand Hall that everyone could hear it. "You're loyal, much more than your father. Would Hufflepuff do you good? But you are also brave. Gryffindor may be the house for you… I choose…. GRYFFINDOR!"

There was an abundance of applause and Albus sat down, next to James, relieved. "Where's Hannah, Sophia and Caroline?"

"Sophia and Caroline are in the corner opposite of where you were. They were in the carriages with us, but I don't know where Hannah is," James whispered to Albus. "When do you reckon they're going to get Sorted?"

"Maybe after the first years are done?" Albus suggested. "Maybe they get their own segment."

James mused this for a while. "I never knew you were smart, Al."

"Shut up, James," Albus muttered. "Let's see which house Rose goes into."

"Weasley, Rose!"

Rose stepped up, confidently, and sat on the stool.

"Hm…" The hat mused to himself. "Sharp mind… clear intentions… I must sort you in… RAVENCLAW!"

Rose looked unfazed as she walked to the Ravenclaw table, and other Ravenclaws cheered her on. Albus gripped James' sleeve. "Was that meant to happen?"

James looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure, Al. Uncle Ron is going to go mental."

Albus had worry written on his face. "I hope Rose knows what's in for her."

"She's Rose," James said. "She'll be fine... I hope."

The Headmistress stood up after every one of the first years were done.

"What's her name?" Albus asked James.

"Professor Odile Chrikson," James told him. Professor Chrikson had caramel hair, wrapped tight in two sidebuns and deep brown eyes. She spoke.

"As some of you may know, some foreign students are going to come to Hogwarts in later years," Professor Chrikson began. "This is because the Ministry has decided to let go of the old prejudice and set a treaty between the nations. Every year, a different continent's top three students will come. This year, it is North America. They have magic different from ours. That does NOT mean we may be rude to them, or exclude them in any matter. In fact, they may know more magic than you do."

Professor Chrikson sent a beady glare. "Is that understood?" There were many nods from students. "Now, we will Sort these students."

"Caroline Lawson," Professor Chrikson said, as Caroline came out. They shook hands and Professor Chrikson asked her; "Anything we should know about you, dear?"

Caroline grinned maniacally, which sent a few shudders down Albus' spine. "I'm good at summoning knives, guns and swords. Oh, and I'm immortal, obviously."

The students shifted around, not sure what to make of this. As Caroline sat down, the Hat was muttering; "Scary, violent, likes to terrorize students… but… I must say GRYFFINDOR!"

From the Gryffindor table there was a smattering of polite clapping, but Caroline didn't appear to take notice or care as she sat at the very end of the table.

"Hannah Stewart!"

"Where did she come from? I could've sworn she wasn't there a moment ago..." whispered Albus.

"Probably came in when Little Miss Sunshine was being Sorted."

"But from where?"

James shrugged. "How could I know?"

"I usually get what I want, but I'm good at healing," Hannah gave a wary look.

"Hm…" The Sorting Hat mused. "Better be… SLYTHERIN!"

Hannah shrugged as she flounced over to the Slytherin table, making herself comfortable at the end like Caroline.

"I reckoned it would be the other way 'round," James breathed. Albus didn't say anything, but he quietly agreed.

"Sophia Walker!"

"I'm good at arithmancy," Sophia said quietly. "And astronomy."

"Quiet, loyal, kind," The Hat listed. "You should be in… HUFFLEPUFF!"

_Well_, Albus thought dully. _James just got his heart broken._

* * *

Disclaimer

We do not own anything you recognize.

**Author's Note**

Well, hi, again! This is a new story I've decided to come up with, and my friend, _QuietlyImagining_, is helping me write this fanfic. I hope you like this, even though my writing style is a bit different – we wanted it to match J.K Rowling's format. Also, these characters (Sophia, Hannah, Caroline) are based on our real life friends – we don't mean to offend _anyone_. So, other than that, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!

_BlueDaylighter & QuietlyImagining _


	2. Chapter 2 - Sophia

Chapter 2 - Sophia

"First years, over here!"

Sophia, feeling as stuffed as a turkey, roused herself from her solitary place at the table to follow the older student, joining a small crowd of people.

"Who's that?" Sophia asked the nearest person, a tall girl with strawberry blond hair tied into short twin braids.

"You're the new foreign student, aren't you? I wanted to talk to you, but I wasn't sure you wanted to, I mean, because you were sitting all alone." the girl chirped. "Well… that blockhead is the sixth year Prefect George Freel. The other is Ella Dawson."

Sophia looked over at them. "Sixth year…?"

"Yes, Prefects are chosen in the fifth year and continue to seven. Don't you have that in your school?"

"No…" Sophia trailed off. "Are those the same as grades?"

"Marks?"

"No, I mean… nevermind," Sophia gave up and followed the line of students with the "What's your name?"

"I'm Dominique Weasley! Lovely to meet you," Dominique said cheerfully. "Hey, you don't mind if I ask you some questions, right? And, I might have a lot. Just so you've been warned."

"No," Sophia said. "I'm used to it. From Hannah and Caroline, I mean. And what's the big deal about that creepy hat?"

Dominique laughed. "I know, right? That hat is _ancient_. It's been here since the founders of the school passed away."

"Jeez," Sophia said, feeling useless. "I better read up on this place."

"Eh, you'll get used to it," Dominique said, with a shrug of her shoulders. "It doesn't really matter, as well. There are a lot of Muggleborns, meaning wizards that don't have any wizard ancestry. At all. Also, there are Squibs. Those are people who fail to show any magic – even if they have wizard parents."

Sophia flushed. "I know that, but we call 'Squibs' Derelictions. Also, we call Muggles – non-magical people, right? – Customaries."

Dominique cocked her head. "Derelictions? Customaries? Wow, North America is odd."

Sophia nearly forgot to bite her tongue to not say the same for Europe in general, but the Sorting hat put her in Hufflepuff for a reason. She was nice – as far as she knew of. "Anything else I should know?"

"Oh, yeah!" Dominique exclaimed. "Have you heard of Quidditch? Don't tell me you haven't, that's just daft. What I mean, is do you play?"

"Yeah, I've heard of Quidditch," Sophia said, glad to know _something_. "But, no, I don't play. I'm kind of scared of heights. Next to my fear that Caroline is going to kill me and drag me to hell and back. Although, she has said it actually happened, she just wiped my memory. Come to think of it, there are a lot of blank spaces in my memory…"

"Why are you friends with her then?" Dominique asked, curious. "How can you be friends with a person you're completely scared of?"

Sophia shrugged. She honestly didn't know. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Yet she is more both."

Dominique shrugged. "I'm not going to pretend that's not strange. Do you know any magic?"

"Yes, actually! This should be my second year, North American students begin school a year earlier than Europe's. So I know how to conjure a basic flame for a couple minutes, producing water, summoning objects close to me, levitating and turning a box of pencils to matches. I prefer Arithmancy and Astronomy over learning magic, though. I'm not the best at magic."

"What, really?" she exclaimed. "Math and some planets above magic? Well… that's your own choice." She watched the girl prefect tap an almost hidden barrel five times. "It's in the rhythm of Hel-ga Huff-le-puff," she explained. The barrel vanished and the wall behind it slid into the ceiling, opening a brightly lit staircase leading below.

At the bottom, Sophia gasped- the Hufflepuff Common Room was a huge circular room decorated with hanging plants and plush armchairs. It was illuminated by windows at the top, streaming bright sunlight into the beautifully cozy room. The walls were strewn with round wooden doors, a bit like the ones in _The Hobbit_, Sophia thought.

"It looks like a Hobbit hole…" Sophia muttered.

"Hobbits?" Dominique looked confused. "Are those some animals only found in North America?"

"No, no, they're fictional book characters," Sophia smiled, but her smile dropped as she became worried. "At least to the farthest of my knowledge. Do you know where we're going to sleep?"

"Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure we should be sharing dorms with three other girls," Dominique said. "Hang a left, the door says 'First-Year Girls' and our names on it."

Sophia climbed into the nearest porthole on the left, lifting her robes so they wouldn't get stuck on something. "Nice place, here. And how is it so bright here? It was a dark and stormy night, last I checked."

Dominique shrugged. "I don't know everything. What I'm concerned with, is how are we gonna sleep?"

The circular room had the feel of an indoor gazebo, with wooden struts on the ceiling and tall latticed windows. _They must be enchanted,_ she thought, _because they all show a bright sun-filled meadow, when we're underground._

She yawned widely. "D-do you think we should ask someone about this? I'm so sleepy, I'd just like to… well… sleep."

"Hey," whispered Dominique. "Shh. I think the other girls might already be here and sleeping. See? Over those three beds, the curtains are drawn."

"Do you think that's what we're supposed to do? Just draw our curtains?"

A girl opened the door and peeked inside.

"Oh, are you trying to make it darker?"

They nodded.

"Snap your fingers once to turn on and turn off the lamp, snap twice to turn the windows to night. Only works after 7 P.M. and before 6 A.M., though. I was looking for the sister of my friend, guess she's already asleep…"

"Oh, well, thanks," Sophia said.

"You're the foreign student, aren't you?" The girl asked. "Well, then, hi. My name's Annie. Yours is Sophia, right?"

"Yeah, hi," Sophia said. "Just call me Sophie. My friends only call me Sophia when they want to tick me off."

"The girls that went into Gryffindor and Slytherin, right?" Annie dropped her voice. "Is that Slytherin girl nice? Because usually Slytherins are known for their crude behaviour. Also, Gryffindors… Most of them are nice, but they're sometimes _really _prideful and arrogant. And I don't mean to offend you, but that Lawson girl kind of scared me."

"Well, Hannah isn't bad. She's just very demanding, you know?" Sophie said, instantly defending her friends. "And Caroline… I can't deny it. She's pretty prideful, but they're both cool."

"Did you get your schedule?" Annie asked us. "I have mine."

Sophie squirmed in her seat. "Erm, were we supposed to? In Canada, we have many different teachers, and they give us our schedules in class."

"Many different teachers?" Annie looked bemused. "Like they were the Head of the… Class?"

"Yeah, and we each had our own individual homeroom teacher," Sophie nodded enthusiastically. "And, usually, we all follow the same schedule – everyone in the homeroom, that is – and we would all help each other out."

"Hmm," Dominique mused. "Well, things are different at Hogwarts. We all have separate schedules, though most are very similar. We share classes with our House until fifth year, and there we can choose which career we would like to take."

"I don't think I need to know that," Sophie laughed. "But thanks."

"Welcome. Also, call me Dom," Dominique flashed a smile. "Dominique sounds so formal."

"I want to go to sleep," Sophie yawned, stretching her arms. "So two snaps…?"

Annie nodded and began to close the door. "Goodnight, Sophie, Dom. See you in the morning."

Sophia nodded at her, then took a look at the schedule and gasped. "6:30?! I have to be _at breakfast _by then?"

Annie laughed. "That's for good, hot breakfast. Classes don't essentially start until 8:30, but I'd advise getting up at about 7:00." she recommended. "So you can shower, brush, change and eat our breakfast without a hurry. Well, goodnight!" She backed out and left.

"7:00," moaned Dom. "No-o-o-o-o. I'm terrible at waking up early. Will you wake me up?"

"Of course! Wait a second," Sophia rummaged through her trunk. "Ah! Here it is." She held up her clock. "It's probably better than me. Alarm clock."

"Oh, thanks, Sophie," Dominique yawned. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Night, Sophie."

"Night," Sophie muttered. She looked back down at her schedule, noticing they had Herbology with Slytherins. Oh, with Hannah. Yay.

* * *

_Ring-g-g-g_.

Sophie woke with a start, nearly falling off her bed. Sophie groggily lifted her head and stared at the clock: _7:00_. Sophie pulled the curtains open, noticing Dominique's curtains were still drawn. Sophie sluggishly climbed out of her bed, and softly hit Dominique's curtains.

"Dom?" Sophie said, quietly. "Time to get up."

Sophie heard a groan and smiled. "Dom, c'mon. Don't want to be late on the first day."

"Sophie…?" Dom muttered.

"Get up, Dom," Sophie said, patiently. "We'll be late."

"Fine, f-fine," Dominique grumbled and yawned. After what Sophie felt to be a full three minutes, she tumbled from the blinds onto the floor at Sophie's feet. "Let's just get to the Great Hall."

After changing and some rigorous hair-brushing, Sophie's hair was decently straight, and she and Dom went to the Great Hall.

"We've got Herbology with the Slytherins?" Dom questioned Sophie disbelievingly, consulting her own timetable. "Just what I need to start off a morning."

"Well, I'm going to see Hannah, so it doesn't really matter," Sophie said, sitting down at the Hufflepuff table, which was again miraculously laden with heaps of food. She wondered how it managed to avoid collapsing. "What's for breakfast?"

"I want a bagel," Dominique announced. "And milk. Definitely milk."

Sophie rolled her eyes. She scanned the vast room for Hannah and Caroline, spotting Caroline at the Gryffindor table, talking with James and Albus.

"Do you mind if I go talk with Caroline?" Sophie asked, afraid to ditch her friend without her consent. "I want to see how she's doing."

Dominique lazily waved her hand. "I don't mind. Go talk to her. Honestly, if you can be friends with her, great. I applaud you."

Sophie nervously walked over to the Gryffindor table, where she saw Hannah rising from the Slytherin table as well. She gave a questioning look to her, but Hannah shrugged her shoulders and sauntered over to her.

"What's up, Slop?" Hannah asked. "The Slytherin Common Room is all green and stuff. It's decent, but they can do better. Going to talk to Caroline?"

"Are you?" Sophie asked, rubbing her temples. All the noise in the Hall was getting to her. "By the way, we have Herbology, together."

"Yes, I know, Dopey," Hannah said rolling her eyes. Caroline spotted them.

"Hannah! Dopey!" Caroline called as she spotted them. "Come sit here! I've got to tell you something drastically terrible!"  
Sophie gave a subconscious look to Albus and James, waiting for their approval of sitting down. Albus smiled and motioned them to sit, while Hannah just tossed her hair and sat.

"So what's so _drastically terrible_, Caroline?" Sophie asked, curious. "What is it?"

"There's no _Minion Rush _here, Dopey!" Caroline moaned, waving her iPad. "There's no _Jetpack Joyride _or _Moo_! You can't even play _any _electronics here! Something about magical frequency yadda-yadda!"

"That's terrible, Caroline," Sophie said, rolling her eyes while Hannah slumped. "I'm sure you'll survive."

"What's _Minion Rush_?" James cocked his head. "Am I missing something here?"

"It's a Customary – Muggle – game," Hannah interrupted. "You know those funny gadgets Muggles use? Well, on those gadgets you can play different games, but the magic in Hogwarts doesn't let us. At North American schools, the magic is only surrounding the borders of the schools – to keep away Muggles – and the magic isn't as powerful there, so Muggle-made gadgets work."

"How do you know all that, Hannah?" Caroline asked. "You were never that smart."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "It's called listening to teachers and immediately regretting it. Herbology is starting soon, Slop. Better get there."

And with that, Hannah flounced away, her long hair flying back like a shampoo model's hair.

"Why does Hannah call you 'Slop' and Caroline, 'Dopey'?" James asked, his face curious. "They're not very nice sounding."

"Because they're not suppose to be, _duh_," Caroline drawled. "Sophie equals Sloppy, which equals Slop – Hannah's nickname – which equals Dope, which equals Dopey!"

James shook his head. "I'm not even going to pretend I know what you mean."

"Don't even try," Sophie said dryly. "It's taken quite a while for me to adjust as well, don't worry about all the random stuff we're saying."

James nodded as he continued to butter his bread. Sophie pulled up her sleeve to check her watch, seeing it was 8:00. "I'd better go to Herbology. Bye Caroline. Albus. James."

"Bye, Sophia," Albus muttered, looking down at his breakfast. This made Sophie halt.

"What's wrong, Albus?" Sophie questioned. "Oh, and call me Sophie, Albus, James."

"Nothing, just something silly," Albus murmured, nibbling on his bread. "Worried about first class. You should be the one worried about it. Not me, you."

"Don't worry, Albus," Sophie comforted. She looked at her watch again. "Erm, do you know where the greenhouse for Herbology is?"

"I'll show you!" Dominique chirped. "C'mon. We don't want to be late."

"I wonder if Hannah's gone there…" Sophie trailed off, being literally dragged off by Dominique.

* * *

"Now, this semester, we will be focusing on plants that have healing properties," Professor Longbottom announced, walking to the head of the greenhouse table. "Every year we will be focusing on a different group of plants by the properties of them. Is that understood?"

There was a chorus of, _Yes, Professor Longbottom _and he nodded, satisfied. "For this year, we will be focusing on dittany, dandelions, mandrake and wolfsbane. We will also learn the fire-making spell and the severing charm, later in the year."

"It wasn't always like this," hissed Dominique. "Dad told me they would just get random plants and tell us about it but Nev – Professor Longbottom changed it when he became Professor. He said it was easier."

"Hannah's going to have a field day," Sophie muttered back, trying to concentrate in what Professor Longbottom was saying. "She's brilliant at anything healing related."

"Lucky her, then," Dominique whispered, almost sourly.

"Can anyone tell me what _dittany _is?" Sophie heard Professor Longbottom ask. Hannah's hand shot up, right into the air. "Miss Stewart?"

"Dittany," Hannah said, as if she was reciting blandly from a textbook. "is a powerful healing plant, used in potions and is a restorative. Its use is when you put it on a wound, it appears several days old, and the pain is lessened. Also, the plant can be eaten raw for shallow wounds."

"Correct, Miss Lawson. Ten points to Slytherin," Professor Longbottom awarded Hannah. She smiled smugly. "Can anyone tell me where dittany was originally found?"

Hannah's hand shot in the air again, and she answered; "So, like...I think it comes from the Ancient Greek _δίκταμνον_, or maybe _Δικτή_, meaning Dicte. Dicte is a mountain on Crete where the plant grew on. Crete is, like, where that Minos guy and the Labyrinth were. I read this one messed-up book and - oh." She stopped herself short.

"Another ten points to Slytherin," Professor Longbottom said. He walked to the side of the greenhouse, plucking some flowers from a leafy bush spilling out of its pot. "This is dittany. If what Miss Stewart said is true, then it should heal any shallow injury – to people or animals."

Sophie looked at Dominique uneasily. Professor Longbottom waved his wand, creating some fake animals. Well, Sophie hoped they were fake animals.

"These are animals you will be trying to heal with dittany," Professor Longbottom announced. He waved his wand again, and a bottle of dittany liquid and freshly picked dittany appeared on the table. "Partner up, and whoever has healed their animal _correctly _will earn their House fifteen points."

Sophie look at Dominique and she nodded. Sophie made eye contact with Hannah, but she just shrugged and raised her hand.

"Miss Stewart?" Professor Longbottom called on Hannah again. "Is there a problem?"

"May I work by myself?" Hannah inquired. "I work better independently."

Professor Longbottom looked as if he was thinking it through. "If that is what you want, Miss Stewart, but, next time, please do what I say."

Hannah nodded and started healing her animal, immediately. Sophie turned to Dominique. "Ready to fail?"

Dominique sighed, unhappily. "Unfortunately, yes."

* * *

"That class was _terrible_," Sophie groaned, massaging her temple. "How did we make that ferret – or whatever it was – _sicker_?"

"I have no idea," Dominique shook her head, helplessly. "I thought he was getting better!"

"It might've been a she," Sophie said, sourly. "What's next class?"

"Transfiguration," Dominique told her. "With the Gryffindors."

"What do we have to learn?" Sophie asked, brushing some of her hair out of her face.

"I think we've got to take complex notes," Dominique told Sophie. "Then...what did Victoire say? We get to learn spells, but only use them in the later months. I hope that maybe we'll get to use spells today!"

Sophie suddenly grew worried. "But – but, I've learned things differently! I just say the word in my head and concentrate, then it happens. I've never used a wand before!"

Dominique arched an eyebrow. "Quit worrying, I'll help you. Don't worry, 'kay? It's my first time doing magic with a wand too, you're not alone here."

Sophie nodded. "Yes, thanks, Dom."

Dominique waved her hand, good naturally. "S'nothing. Anyways, it'll still be quite hard – even for me. Forget that. _Especially _for me."

Sophie's face turned glum. "Damn. Why does the world hate me?"

Dominique laughed. "Wands… why?!" she said in a mock imitation of Sophie.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Dom. I just naturally suck at magic. This is why I prefer Arithmancy and Astronomy over magic."

"I still can't see how you are like that," Dominique shook her head, amazed. "Who doesn't like magic."

"That's what makes me special," Sophie giggled good-naturedly. "Though if Caroline is in our class…"

"Are your friends good at every subject?" Dominique asked, suddenly.

Sophie laughed, trying to stifle it with no avail. "No _way_. We're good at a certain topic of magic and we suck at everything else. Like Hannah's good at anything healing and Caroline's good at anything… torture, death, stuff like that related."

"This Lawson girl is quite scary," Dominique said, uneasily. "I think I saw some fourth years being _terrified _by her. Imagine that."

"Unfortunately, it's not too hard to," murmured Sophie, in response.

"What does your wand look like?" Dominique asked, curious. "_Where _is your wand?"

Sophie froze. "Shoot! I left it in our dorm! Godda – you know what? Go ahead of me, Dom. I'll catch up with you."

Dominique shifted on her feet. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Dom, I don't want to make you late as well, don't worry," Sophie assured her. "I'll be back in a flash."

* * *

_Stupid_, Sophie scowled. She raced back to the Common Room (don't forget _Hel-ga Huff-le-puff_) and Sophie ran into her room, flinging the door open, and rummaged through her suitcase.

Sophie sighed. "There you are." Eleven and and half polished inches of applewood and unicorn hair as the core. It was strange and unfamiliar to her touch, but what could she do? Sophie jumped up the stairs exiting the Hufflepuff Common Room, taking three at a time. She pulled up her sleeve, noticing transfiguration was well on its way.

_Damn_, Sophie thought to herself, as she started to run. _Already late. Shoot. Screw you forgetful –_

_Whoosh_! Sophie sank through a seemingly solid step in the stairs leading upstairs, her face hitting the remaining stairs. Hard. Even her glasses flew off. "Ow! Jeez, my nose...this day just gets better and better…"

Sophie heard someone chuckling. She raised her head from the carpet, making out a blurry image of a boy on the landing above. "James?"

"Here." James pulled her out of the step and handed Sophie her glasses and her wand. "Already skipping?"

Sophie's face tinged pink. "No!… I – I forgot my wand. I'm heading back to my class. Are _you _skipping?"

"Yes!" said James, as if it couldn't be more obvious. "Who needs classes? Especially when it's History of Magic." He rolled his eyes.

"But – but, History of Magic can be fun!" Sophie protested. "You learn about the past! Isn't that fun?"

"Not when you have Binns as the teacher," James said, bored. "Trust me, when you get him, you'll be skipping right with me. Like you're doing now."

Sophie couldn't find words to express herself. "Well… bye, I guess, see you later, James." She began marching upstairs.

James caught her arm just as she passed him. "Wait! Come on, skip with me? I'll make it worth your while, if you know what I mean," He winked.

Sophie's face flushed. "No… but, maybe later in the year–" _Which means never, _she thought "– don't want to shirk my responsibility now, though, it's only my second class here!" Sophie gave an uneasy smile. "Bye, James."

"I'm keeping that in mind, Sophia, love," James smiled and blew her a kiss. "See you later."

He walked away, leaving Sophie stunned. Only when she blinked, she remembered to go to Transfiguration.

_He's just a playboy, _she reminded herself. _Even Rose said so. Do you really think he actually likes you? Of course not. Shut up and do what you're told._

* * *

"I'm… so sorry I'm late!" Sophie blurted out, as she ran into the classroom. "I was caught up by a staircase… I'm sorry!"

The Professor sighed. "You may be excused this time, Miss Walker, but try not to be late again."

"Of course, erm…" Sophie shifted uncomfortably.

"Professor Bascombe," the Professor directed her to her seat. "Please sit next to Miss Weasley."

Sophie gave a short nod and sat next to Dominique. Her eyes were critical, as she pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled something on.

**A faulty stair?**

_Is that so hard to believe?_

**YES!**

_Why, is it so crucial to know, Dom? I did nothing. This place is difficult. Moving stairs… Trap stairs… Screw stairs._

**Honestly, Sophie. Something held you up. Was it a boy?**

_No! My god, Dom, no! _

**Your face is telling a different story. Tut, tut, Sophie. You're only in your FIRST year. I expected better.**

_Just… just shut up, Dom. _

Sophie refocused her attention on Professor Bascombe.

"Transfiguring is one of the most dangerous branches of magic," the Professor warned. "I do not want any fooling around in this class. Is that clear?"

"Yes," chanted back the class.

"Now, instead of taking complex notes for the _whole _class, let's play a game," Professor Bascombe said. "Whoever can answer my questions about Transfiguration will earn five points to their House. There are three questions."

Sophie nodded. This was hardly a game, but it was better than copying notes. She didn't even need to look to see that Caroline was listening raptly for anything that involved violence.

"Question one," Professor Bascombe cleared his throat. "What is Transfiguration _exactly_?"

Nobody raised their hands.

**Do you know, Sophie?**

_Maybe… What happens if I say yes?_

**ANSWER HIM!**

_If, Dom, if! _

**Just bloody answer him, Sophie. We need the points. Especially after your friend Hannah got **_**thirty five **_**points to her House. Still wondering how she healed her animal THAT fast. AND SHE WAS BY HERSELF! **

_Dom… fine. Fine. You win. _

Sophie raised her hand, tentatively.

"Yes Miss Walker?"

"Erm… isn't Transfiguration the magic that makes objects change their appearance?" Sophie squeaked.

"Correct, Miss Walker. Not fully, but the best explanation from a first year I've heard in a few years," Professor Bascombe said.

**That's sad.**

_Shut up, Dom._

**I ain't talking. I'm **_**writing**_**. **

…_I hate you._

"Five points to Hufflepuff," Professor Bascombe awarded.

**I'm bored. **

_I'm trying to learn. _

**You're no fun. **

_Why, thank you. Thank you for the compliment. _

When Sophie lifted her head, Professor Bascombe was on question 3. "What is the incantation for turning a match into a needle?"

_Caroline has got this. _

**What? **

"Miss Lawson?"

"The incantation is _luscumuto_, Professor," Caroline answered, eagerly. Her eyes glittered with malicious intent. "May we try it this class?"

_No! Damn, if we practice this during class, she is going to MURDER me! It nearly happened last year too!_

Professor Bascombe had a thoughtful look on his face. "If you complete all the notes, and if we have time, yes. Normally, I wouldn't start spells until the first month was over but… you seem like a good bunch."

Sophie tried to complete her notes as slowly as possible. This was no use, when many other students were scribbling down their notes as fast as they could. Sophie sighed as she continued to copy down complex notes she didn't even understand.

When about forty five minutes had past, Professor Bascombe announced they were done.

"Now, since you are done the notes, I shall show you how to do the spell," Professor Bascombe told the class. "Luscumoto!" He waved his wand in a circular motion.

A match on his desk turned into a needle, suddenly. "Now, who wants to try?"  
Caroline's hand reached into the air, squirming and wriggling as if she was trying to pull down clouds. "May I try, sir?"

"Of course, you may," Professor Bascombe prompted.

Caroline had a maniacal grin on her face as she cried, _Luscumoto!_, waving hers flamboyantly.

The minuscule match transformed into a five inch needle, as sharp and gleaming as an icicle.

"Very impressive, Miss Lawson," Professor Bascombe said. "Five points to Gryffindor. Now, the rest of you may try."

Sophie groaned. This Professor had signed her death.

_The rest of you may try_.

A paper airplane hit Sophie, right in the ear, hovering impatiently around her. She plucked it out of the air, fearing the worst, and read:

Ready to die, Dopey?

_No_, Sophie thought, desperately. _I'm too young to die! Screw Transfiguration!_

"That girl…" Dominique whispered to Sophie. "_Really _want's you dead. Why?"

"You've got no idea," Sophie muttered. "And some things are better left unsaid."

Disclaimer

We do not own anything you recognize.

**Author's Note**

Well, here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Also, we'll be trying to post chapters every Wednesday, and sometimes if we're bored Fridays... so, thanks for reading.

Reviews are loved,

_BlueDaylighter & QuietlyImagining _


	3. Chapter 3 - Caroline

Chapter 3 - Caroline

Caroline was having a field day. First she got to creep out the Brits, and _then _she got to terrorize Sophie. When she had first tried out the spell, it was quite easy. It was her speciality. She looked at Sophie mischievously, before muttering, "Cultellulus!"

A knife gleamed instead of a needle, as Caroline held it, examining it, carefully. A wicked grin drew up on her face. She lifted her eyes to Sophie, who had paled drastically.

"For your homework, I want you to write five inches of parchment about Transfiguration and practice the spell. Mind you keep your writing small!" Professor Bascombe ordered. Caroline rolled her eyes and ran out as soon as she heard her Professor dismiss her.

"Dopey!" Caroline called as she quickly transfigured her knife into a needle again. "Dopey, what're you doing, now? Classes are over… I think."

"Mmm," Sophie mused. "Well, bye, Caroline. I'm going to work on homework."

"Why do we have to do homework?" Caroline whined. She saw no point in doing something she was already good at. "This place is horrible!"

"Suck it up, Caroline," Sophie rolled her eyes. "Schools not all fun and games. Got to go. Bye, Caroline."

"Bye, Dopey," Caroline muttered. Normally, she would usually run after Sophie and endlessly tease and terrorize her, but, right now, she was simply too tired. She didn't know why. Maybe the wands? Caroline pulled out her wand – ten inches of alder wood and dragon heartstring as the core. She honestly didn't see the 'awesomeness' of wands, as the other wizards and witches from Gryffindor insisted. She would probably lose it in her first week at Hogwarts. She walked towards the Gryffindor fat lady painting (fat lady… such a nice name…) and she saw a girl with wavy, chestnut hair.

"Hey!" she called. The girl turned around, her brown eyes widening.

"You're Caroline Lawson, aren't you?" the girl guessed. "Do you need the password into the Common Room?"

Caroline was stunned for a moment, but soon pulled on her haughty behaviour. "No. I was just wondering if _you _knew where to go."

The girl smiled, but it wasn't out of humor. "Mm hmm, in that case. No, I am _not_ lost. I was just heading back to the Gryffindor Common Room. You?"

Caroline gave a small, curt nod. "Yes. Yes I am." For a while, Caroline thought she could somehow sneak into the Common Room with her, and listen to the password, without admitting she didn't know it. After all, it was best not to reveal what you didn't know.

"My name is Zila Allen," Zila introduced. "And I already know yours."

For the first time in her life, Caroline sighed. "It seems everyone here knows my name. Damn."

"Well," Zila said, matter-of-factly, "You _are_ one of the new foreign students. Who wouldn't?"

"Dopey," Caroline said, without thinking. Zila shot her an odd look.

"Who…?"

"Forget what I said," Caroline said. "Let's just get to the Common Room."

"Mmm," Zila agreed. When they reached the portrait, Zila told Caroline; "It's _revelio __aparecium_."

"I knew that," Caroline grumbled. "I'm not daft. That's Dop – that's someone else's job." Caroline saved lamely. _Slipping up too much. This isn't like me._

"By what I can deduce, this 'Dopey' would be another of the foreign students. From Canada, I presume?" she asked testily.

_Damn. This girl is too intelligent, _Caroline thought to herself. "Whatever."

As they entered the Common Room, Caroline immediately smelled trouble. "Something's off…"

"Something's always off, Caroline," Zila said patronizingly. "This is Hogwarts. There's a lot of magic frequency in the air. Unlike your school, of course."

Caroline tried not to look astonished. "_Whatever_."

"Do you need help on any of the homework?" Zila offered condescendingly. "I'm the best there is at Transfiguration."

"I'm sure you are," Caroline scowled. "But so am I."

"Oh." Zila hmphed. "Well, bye, Caroline. See you around."

"Whatever." Caroline really couldn't find anything else to say. "Guess I have to see you tomorrow."

Zila coldly smiled. "Maybe."

* * *

"God dam –" Caroline exclaimed in frustration. She scribbled out the ink on the parchment, as she dug out another one. "Who got rid of pencils and erasers?"

She had gone through multiple parchments, making mistake after mistake, ripping parchment, throwing it down or even cutting it into pieces with a knife.

_This sucks_, Caroline thought, sulking. _Quills_. _Are. So. Stupid._

Transfiguration is one of the most dangerous branches of magic. Transfiguraton

_Dammit!_ she mentally screamed. _What is this? My seventh parchment?_ "Ugh. I miss my laptop."

"What?" Caroline turned around. Great. Another girl.

"And who are you?" she sniffed. "I don't need _your_ opinion, you know."

"Raine Yew," the girl introduced herself. She had pixie cut hair and bright brown eyes. "Caroline Lawson?"

"Yes," Caroline decided to be civil for once. "Nice, erm, to meet you." _Being civil, _she decided, _is too hard. Screw it._

"What do you want?" She demanded.

"Are you rude to everyone you meet?" Raine fired back. "Or are you just rude to people you don't know?"

"Pfft. Of course. What makes you think you're special?" Caroline retorted. "I treat everyone the same."

Raine shrugged. "Well, lovely to meet you too." she said sarcastically "What blood purity do you have?"

"Does it _matter_?"

"Not particularly to me, but you said you missed your laptop," Raine explained. "Which, I think, means you aren't pureblooded."

"I _am _a pureblood, thank you very much," Caroline said haughtily. "At schools in North America near everyone uses Customary machines. Unlike this stupid old-fashioned Europe."

"Ah, there we go."

"What?"

"I was wondering why you were Sorted into Gryffindor. But here you are, full of panache and conceit."

"Am I breaking the tradition?" Caroline asked, huffing. "Are all Gryffindors supposed to be _noble _and _good_? Because I am far, far from it."

Raine laughed humorlessly. "No, you aren't. People always seem to get the impression that all Gryffindors should be good and all Slytherins should be bad. Actually, it's just generalizations: Gryffindors can be vain and arrogant, while Slytherins are ambitious and smart, which can be good _or _bad. So, no, you aren't the first unkind Gryffindor, to put it lightly."

"Personally, I was hoping to be a rule breaker."

Raine was silent until she questioned,"You need help on Transfiguration?" She looked at Caroline's feet, littered with trash. "And don't say no, it's obvious you're struggling."

"Yeah, well," Caroline huffed. "I need an eraser and pencil. All I need are _those two things_. The two most common school items in America are non-existent here."

Raine frowned. "You should get an auto-correct quill."

"There's such a thing?" Caroline said then she frowned heavily. "Of course there is. This is the UK."

"I will choose not to take offense to that," Raine said. Then, she sighed. "C'mon. Let's work on your Transfiguration homework."

* * *

"Zila Allen," Raine told Caroline, "Should be in Slytherin."

"I picked that up from yesterday, thank you very much" Caroline grumbled. "She thinks she's the great princess, everyone needs to worship her, thinks she's so smart."

"I agree with you there," Raine gave Caroline a dry smile. "Her own name means shade or shadow, did you know?"

"Figures," Caroline grumbled. "Even I'm not that snooty!" She frowned. "Come to think of it, I'm not snooty at all. I just don't like people in general."

After they had finished Caroline's homework, Raine started showing Caroline around Hogwarts.

"I'm in my second year," Raine informed her. "There are some nice people and some people you should avoid."

"Obviously. Mind giving me a few examples? No, of course you don't, you'll tell me anything."

Raine ignored the last part and continued. "Zila for example, you should avoid her at all costs, as you've seen. Cameron Longbottom is cool, I guess... he's more ambitious than his parents – people say – and he's in Ravenclaw. He's also in his third year."

"Know anyone in _my _year?" Caroline asked, as she brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. "I look real pathetic over here, with only older kids to talk to."

Raine looked at her funny. "Is that a problem? I hope you aren't one of those snobbish kids who only blabber about their popularity."

"Me? Popular?" Caroline scoffed. "Yeah, right. Best way to strike is from the shadows."

Raine gave a small smile. "Me too. What do you have tomorrow?"

"I think Flying was one," Caroline crinkled her nose. "With the Hufflepuffs. Oh, Sophie's deathly afraid of heights. I actually feel a little pity for her… haha! No… I don't."

"I'm guessing you don't treat your other friends with such luxury as you are to me?" Raine asked. "I mean, you call your friend 'Dopey'?"

"How did you…?"

"I overheard you, when you were talking to Zila," Raine shrugged. "Isn't Hogwarts nice?"

Caroline gave a small, curt nod as she looked around. "When's dinner?"

"I remember my first year," Raine reminisced. "I was even more curious than you. What school are you going to next?"

"I'm not sure, really," Caroline decided she liked Raine. She would treat her as an equal. "Antarktikos Academy, I think. In Antarctica."

"Cold, much?" Raine asked Caroline. "Better pack fur coats."

"Hopefully they have awesome heating systems," Caroline hoped. "I'm not freezing my butt off."

"It is a primarily magic-based place there, though, isn't it? But I have a question. How do they choose the representatives?" Raine asked, curious. "I mean, they obviously don't choose their best students."

Ouch. But Caroline guessed that's what everyone else felt when _she_ was blunt. "Honestly, I don't know. It had to be eleven year olds, because they wanted the age to be similar with everyone."

"Was it like a draw?" Raine asked. "Like your name was entered and your Headmistress or Headmaster chose three names?"

"I've got no idea," Caroline told her, eyes narrowing. "All I know is that I got a letter telling me to pack and go to England as soon as I could."

"That… sucks," Raine concluded.

"I know right?" Caroline said. "I've got to travel for the next 6 years."

"That might be fun, right?" Raine said, optimistically. "I mean, you get to learn every branch of magic from all the different continents!"

Caroline put on a twisted smile. "Yes…" Her stomach grumbled.

Raine chuckled. "Let's get some dinner."

"Yeah, I'm, like, _dying_ here," Caroline said dramatically. "Hogwart's magic food is actually really good."

"Oh?" Raine cocked her head. "How is _your_ food made?"

"Well it isn't magic," Caroline said. "But I'm particularly attached to the sushi there."

"I've got a question," Raine said suddenly. "How come there are kids who have different backgrounds? I mean, if they had an old prejudice, why would they immigrate here?"

Caroline shrugged. "Maybe they immigrated here a long time ago. Before the prejudice. That's the only reason I can think of."

"Maybe…" Raine mused. "Oh, I forgot. Also, another couple of kids that's good to have around are the Scamander twins, but they don't enter Hogwarts until four years later."

"So… they're seven?" Caroline said, dumbfounded. "How do you know them?"

"My parents are good friends with the Scamander's," Raine shrugged. "Cutest kids _ever_."

"I won't be here four years later," Caroline pointed out. A hot air rushed to greet them, as they entered the Great Hall, already filled with students. "I'm so hungry!"

"Let's grab a place," Raine said, briskly walking over to the Gryffindor table. "I find it extremely inconvenient that we are still sitting on benches. That sucks about Hogwarts."

As Caroline and Raine sat down, a few people lifted their heads to greet them.

"Oh, hey, Caroline," Albus said, giving a small smile. He elbowed James, who looked confused.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Caroline," James said, dazed.

Caroline arched an eyebrow in question.

Albus leaned closer. "He, um," he cleared his throat and whispered confidentially, "Sophia walked in on him snogging some other girls. _Three times._"

"Dopey wouldn't make that much of a fuss out of this moron being more moronic, would she?" Caroline wondered. " But then again, she's the Dope."

James only cradled his head and mumbled something inaudible.

"Look, you like her, right?" Caroline rolled her eyes. She could see that much. She wasn't completely moronic.

Everyone stared at her quizzically.

She sighed. "Putting it in you Brits' terms, _do you, James, fancy the Dope. _Sophie."

James nodded.

Caroline sighed and shook her head. "Well then, stop it! She's friggin' _eleven_, James. I may not like everything about Sophie, screw that, I don't like _anything _about her, but if you're kissing other girls, and you break her heart, I will freaking _kill _you."

Caroline turned back to Raine and muttered, "Stupid British thirteen-year-old boys."

"That's sexist and racist," Raine cocked her head. "Not that I don't agree with you at the least."

Caroline gave a small smile as she looked for some macaroni 'n' cheese. She was fond of that too.

"You like chicken?" Raine asked, handing her some.

"No!" Caroline exclaimed. She had something against chicken, after her mom sent her chicken nuggets every friggin'_ day_. "I mean, I'll pass. I'm looking for some mac 'n' cheese. Please tell me you have that here."

Raine gazed thoughtfully, as she munched on her chicken. "Hmm, no. Or I've never seen it. There are some grilled cheese sandwiches, though."

Caroline shrugged as she reached over to them. "Whatever with cheese, I'm good."

As Caroline chewed her grilled cheese, she looked over at Hannah. "Hey, Raine, hand me a napkin."

Raine gave her one as Caroline quickly scribbled with some sauce on the napkin.

Hey Hannah, What's up? Dopey's Got a new admirer at this end.

Caroline folded the napkin and silently cast the spell to fly in her own branch of magic. As the napkin soared over to Hannah, she noted Hannah's disgusted expression as she read the sauced words. She grabbed a bit of parchment from her bag, and a quill and quickly scribbled it down, sending it back.

_You do realize how inconvenient this is, don't you? Anyone could snatch it up and read what we're writing. Some Slytherins are already shooting me dirty looks. But, besides that, classes here seem pretty good. I dominated Herbology and had Charms afterwards. I had fun at Charms, but I suck at any spell. By the way, it's pretty obvious the admirer is the older Potter boy. _

Caroline read this as she smudged more sauce in return.

Had Charms and then Transfiguration today. Also, you guessed correctly. Cheese for you! If he breaks Sophie's heart… I don't care how much we hate her, we SHOULD help her, right? I don't want Dopey to become Mopey.

_Honestly, I'm not sure. We'll be gone within a year. You don't think Sophie will develop feelings for him, do you? She's also ELEVEN. _

It's Dopey, Hannah. I honestly can't tell what's going on in her head. Maybe, but this sucks, especially for Dopey.

_Figured that out, have you? Applause for you, Sherlock. _

Thanks, Hannah. I'm going back to dorms. See you tomorrow.

Caroline swiftly rose from her seat as she informed Raine, "I'm going to sleep."

Raine nodded, her cheeks bulging with food. "Sure, g'night."

"Good night," Caroline said, as she went up the staircase to the Gryffindor Common Room. "Revelio aparecium."

The portrait swung open as Caroline went in, right into her dorms. She jumped into her bed, thinking of her home in the United States. Now, she was in friggin' Scotland. Her eyes closed as she hit the bed.

* * *

"Potions is not just plain cooking," Professor Slughorn explained. "It is the brewing of ingredients and the precise time management. This might be one of the hardest classes you will take for the next five years."

Caroline rolled her eyes. Most likely, she would blow things up in less than a minute.

"Today, you will only be taking notes," Professor Slughorn ordered. There was a silent groan from the class. "Now, please copy the ingredients for the Wiggenweld potion…"

* * *

"Potions are horrible," Caroline groaned, as she and Albus walked to their next class – Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Dad hated that class," Albus told Caroline as they made their way to the class. "He always said a certain teacher picked on him, because he didn't like granddad. But he understands his reasons."

"That sucks," Caroline commented.

"Also, James told me dad pops up time to time in DADA," Albus told Caroline. "Honestly, it's kind of embarrassing."

"Oh, well…" Caroline tried to find something mildly beyond what qualified as 'mean' to say, but years of taunting other kids her age left her with virtually nothing. "That can't be, erm… too bad, right?"

"Ask James," Albus grinned. "He said it was the most mortifying thing ever."

Caroline grinned back. "I can see that."

As they walked inside the classroom, they spotted a man, about in his fifties or sixties.

"Hello, my dears," the old man greeted, warmly. "My name is Professor Ollivander."

"You mean the Ollivander from the wand shop? The wand shop my _Dad _got his wand at? When Oliivander was _very _old?" Albus asked, dumbfounded. "Shouldn't you be dead?"

Caroline stomped on his foot. "Subtlety, much?"

"No, it's quite alright," Professor Ollivander assured. "I'm his son."

Caroline shot him a glance. He better be doing his job right. "Oh, nice to meet you, Professor Ollivander."

"Please take a seat, Miss Lawson, Mister Potter," Professor Ollivander smiled. "Please wait while the other students come."

Albus and Caroline took seats next to each other, as they saw other students beginning to file in. Caroline recognized a few of them, they were her dorm buddies, but they were quite hostile to her.

And why shouldn't they be? After all, she was a foreign. And, dammit, these Brits were softening her up.

"Albus, d'you know what we're learning?" Caroline whispered to him. She vaguely remembered her DADA classes at her old school, but she hated the subject, because she couldn't jinx anyone – yet.

"I'm not sure, really," Albus admitted. "I think dad mentioned we're learning a few jinxes and a few animals… right?"

He looked questioningly at Professor Ollivander. He nodded in confirmation. "Today we will be taking notes about different animals we will be learning later in the year."

Caroline groaned. _Great, more notes_. _When will this ever stop? _"Oh, c'mon Professor, please let us do some jinxes – anything!"

Professor Ollivander looked at her sharply. "Not today, Miss Lawson. Maybe in a month or two."

"A _month or two_?" Caroline asked, flabbergasted. She couldn't wait that long!

"Yes, Miss Lawson, a month or two," Professor Ollivander said impatiently. "Now I would like to start this class."

After a while, Caroline soon got bored. She quickly scribbled a note and passed it to Albus.

Are you as bored as me? I mean, all he's doing is droning on about some animal we will learn about LATER IN THE YEAR!

_**I understand your pain, Caroline , I really do, but Dad told me to try hard on this class.**_

Caroline rolled her eyes as she read this. Parents. Luckily, her parents were overseas. She refocused her attention on Professor Ollivander, and slowly began taking notes. Ish…

The dark arts are seriously screwed up. Why are we even learning about them? I mean, I get the defence part, but what part of NOTE TAKING is going to help us DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS? What are we going to do, splatter them with ink?!

"Miss Lawson?" Professor Ollivander questioned as Caroline stabbed the parchment in anger.

"What?" Caroline snapped. She quickly realized her mistake. "I mean, I'm sorry, sir."

"Apology accepted, Miss Lawson," Professor Ollivander warned. "But I shall not be as forgiving next time.

"Of course, sir," Caroline muttered, under her breath. "Anytime, sir. Whatever, sir."

_**You should stop that attitude. If you said that to any other Professor, they would've given you detention. **_

Haha, says you, who is PASSING NOTES.

Albus shrugged as he continued to write down everything in his choppy handwriting. Caroline looked at the chalkboard and sighed, beginning to copy everything onto the parchment.

* * *

Caroline looked at the broom she was supposed to fly on. Back at North America, they didn't start teaching you how to fly on brooms until second year, so she was on the same level as all the nervous kids, here. Basic levitation was taught in the first year, so she felt relatively reassured that if she fell she wouldn't straightaway die. The bad part was that she, Sophie and Hannah all nearly failed that course.

"Good afternoon, class," a witch with spiky, grey hair said.

"Good afternoon, Madame Hooch," some of the class responded in return. They stranded there, brooms at their sides.

"Well, hurry up, now," Madame Hooch instructed. "Let's get to the daily lesson. Now. I want you to raise your dominant hand over the broom, and say _up_, in a good, confident voice."

Caroline put her right hand over the broom and said, "Up!"

The broom rose about halfway before falling back to the ground. Albus' twitched, but didn't move after that. Sophie's hadn't moved at all. Caroline glared at the broom and said, "_Up_!" once more. The broom reluctantly flew up into her hand.

"Once you have your broom," Madame Hooch explained, "You will mount it and on the count of three, kick up into the air. One… two… three!"

As they kicked up in the air, Caroline rose about fifteen feet in the air, the highest being twenty five. She wanted to beat that no good person who was beating her. She steadily flew down to Sophie, a mere five feet in the air and yanked her up. "C'mon Sophie!"

"No!" Sophie squirmed as she tried to get away. The broom began to slip from her feet. They were now, unsteadily, twenty feet in the air. Soon, Sophie's broom dropped, and she was only hanging by Caroline's hand.

"Caroline!" Sophie howled. "Let's go down! Put _me _down!"

"No!" Caroline called back, gleefully. She looked down, and her gleefulness was replaced with a timid fear for Sophie. "I mean, yeah!"

"What are you two doing?" They heard a bark. Madame Hooch. "Miss Lawson, let Miss Walker go back to the ground! What are you thinking? Are you crazy?"

Caroline slowly flew back to the ground, letting Sophie land softly.

"What were you thinking?" Madame Hooch asked, her eyes glinting dangerously. "You put Miss Walker in danger! She could have died!"

Caroline squirmed, trying to think of a way to get out of this one. She heard Sophie speak.

"It's partly my fault, Madame Hooch," Sophie lied, quickly. "We can levitate a bit, and I wanted to try out how well I can do it."

"You foolish girl!" Madame Hooch scolded. "Detention for both of you, in the Trophy Room. You, Miss Lawson, for agreeing to such a dangerous activity and you, Miss Walker, for suggesting such a dangerous activity."

Sophie hung her head, but as she did, she whispered to Caroline, "You owe me. So hard."

"Understood," Caroline nodded. "Erm… thanks… I guess. D'you know what we're supposed to do in the Trophy Room, Albus?"

Albus knitted his eyebrows. "Clean the trophies, I guess. Manually."

"Oh, joy," Sophie stated, sarcastically. "I can't believe I helped you."

"I know why," Caroline grinned. "Because you're my bestest friendest everest!"

"Oh, yeses I ames," Sophie rolled her eyes, having a small smile on her face at the improper grammar. "You are so luckiest to havest a friendest like me-est."

"Yeses I amses," Caroline smiled back. "Get ready to clean!"

* * *

Three ways to describe the Trophy Room.

Old.

Filled with useless stuff.

Musty.

Caroline coughed as she waved at the air around her, trying to get rid of all the dust and debris. "Wha-at the he-eck. So-o mu-uch du-ust!"

"I-I know, ri-ight?" Sophie gagged. "We're supposed to clean all these trophies? This will take _forever_."

"Y-you si-igned u-up for this, Dopey," Caroline coughed. "Bl-lame no-o one b-but yourself."

"Damn," Sophie sighed. "We'll have to use our own magic to make the process faster."

So they did. Caroline was mentally exhausted by the time they had finished, and Sophie looked close to passing out.

"Oh my god, who would keep that many freaking trophies?" Sophie groaned, trying to wave away the leftover dust. "Please, just get me some Advil. My head is dying!"

"My head is worse!" Caroline moaned, rubbing her temple. Madame Hooch entered, looking at all the polished trophies.

"That's good, girls," she told them. "Now, run along. Next time, the detention will be worse, so be good. Is that clear?"

Caroline and Sophie nodded in unison and Madame Hooch walked briskly away. Caroline turned to go, but Sophie tripped over a box. "_Oof_!"

"You alright, Dopey?" Caroline helped her up, putting the box right side up. Some photo's had slipped out, and Caroline placed them back in the box, but one caught her eye. It was a Quidditch team, and below were the names.

_Cedric Diggory_, was the Seeker's name.

"Hey Sophie…" Caroline trailed off, showing the photo to Sophie. "Doesn't the dude in the middle – Cedric Diggory – look _a lot _like Edward Cullen from Twilight?"

Discalimer

We do not own anything you recognize.

**Author's Note**

Thank you for reading, once again! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Now, I must thank _Wilhelm Wigworthy _for following and reviewing! Thanks! We appreciate it, _so _much! Cookies for you! (::) (::)

Thanks again for reading, and remember, please review!

_Bluedaylighter & QuietlyImagining_


	4. Chapter 4 - Hannah

Chapter 4 - Hannah

Hannah gathered up her belongings as she exited the Great Hall. She slung her bag across her shoulder as she hurried away from the Slytherins. Most of them judged her, because she was different. She was a foreigner, from a different school, a transfer. _She was different_. Hannah was now the only one without a close friend. Sophie had Dominique and Hannah had seen Caroline conversing with another Gryffindor girl. Somehow, this made her jealous. It was lonely in Slytherin, when no one wanted to be friends with you.

"Hannah?" Hannah turned around, and saw Rose. "You _are _Hannah, right?"

"Oh, Rose," Hannah didn't want to sound too much like a snob. "How are you?"

"Fine," Rose said, her tone pleased. "And you?"

Hannah slumped. "To be completely honest… it's quite lonely."

"I know how you feel," Rose comforted. "I kind of feel lonely at times, because there aren't that many people to converse to, but I read, and there are some decent girls so…"

"At least you have a chance," Hannah told Rose. "Everyone hates me."

"You're pretty nice, Hannah, I wonder why you got sorted into Slytherin," Rose wondered. Rose outstretched her hand. "Well, since we both don't really have friends, do you want to be my friend?"

"You realize how pathetic this is, right?" Hannah said, looking at Rose's hand. "But, whatever. Friends."

Rose grinned. "Nice. So how is it in Slytherin? What does the Common Room look like?"

"Cold," Hannah said, getting straight to the point. "Old. Green. Mysterious. Odd. Underwater. What about Ravenclaw?"

"You go up a spiral staircase and when you get there, an eagle asks you a question," Rose explained. "If you get it right, the door opens. If you don't… well I think you know."

"So… anyone smart can relatively break in?" Hannah asked. "That's… kind of stupid, really."

Rose, instead of being offended, laughed. "I know, right? There are plenty of smart people, outside of Ravenclaw, yet not many people think about it that way."

"Has anyone broken in, so far?" Hannah, asked, genuinely curious. "I mean, it's a miracle itself, no one's terrorized you Ravenclaws yet."

"I think it's happened once or twice," Rose shuddered. "Honestly, it scares me."

"What've you got tomorrow?" Hannah asked, trying to strike up another conversation. "I've got History of Magic."

"Hey, I do too," Rose commented. "How do you like Hogwarts so far, in general?"

"Really, I think it's pretty racist," Hannah answered, bluntly. "I'm sorry, but that's the cold, hard truth."

"Don't worry. you're not alone," Rose looked at Hannah, thoughtfully. "I honestly think it's like that as well. So much discrimination here. I wonder how so many people love it."

"Well, maybe they're probably in Gryffindor, drunk on how they're in the 'best house'," Hannah scowled. "No offense."

"None taken," Rose lifted her sleeve, as she looked at her watch. "Oh, I've got to go, Hannah. I've got homework to do. See you in History of Magic?"

"Sure," Hannah agreed. "Of course. See you tomorrow, Rose!"

"See you!" Rose called back, walking away.

* * *

_Goblin revolutions… more revolutions… even _more _revolutions… goblins… _

Hannah's head spun as this whirled in her head. _Is this all he's going to _ever _talk about?_ She raised her hand as Professor Binns (he had introduced himself, also, he was a freaking _ghost_. What the freak?) called on her.

"Yes?"

"Can you talk about something _other _than goblins or revolutions?" Hannah requested. "Because, quite frankly, it's getting _really _boring and I've only been here for – what? – twenty minutes, and half the students are asleep."

Professor Binns opened and closed his mouth, wondering how a student could talk back to him. "If you prefer, of course, Miss Stewart, work over lectures –"

"Yes!" Hannah snapped. This was getting _way _too boring. "Give my a ten foot parchment to complete, anything but your long lectures!"

Hannah heard many of the students groan (the ones still awake, of course) but she honestly couldn't care less.

"I will, Miss Stewart," replied Professor Binns, haughtily. "Please copy down the entire revolution of 1911 –"

"Gods!" Hannah said, exasperated. "Something _other _than revolutions or goblins! Seriously, what weirdo would hire _you_?"

"I have been teaching at this school for quite some time, Miss Sharpe," Professor Binns told her. "I would advise you start that –"

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Hannah put her hands up, exasperated. "I didn't mean _literally_!"

"Detention, Miss Smith," Professor Binns said nastily. "For mouthing off a teacher. Please meet me here at eight o' clock sharp."

"But –"  
"No buts, Miss Stone," Professor Binns swiftly interrupted. "Now, I would kindly advise you shut your mouth and listen."

Hannah tried to find a comeback – a nasty retort – but she kept her mouth shut and listened to Binns drone on some more. She shot a glance at Rose, and she shrugged, sending her a look; _he deserved it_.

Hannah smiled. _Thanks_. Hannah tried to refocus on Professor Binns, but to her dismay, she realized why so many students were sleeping – even the Ravenclaws. Professor Binns was dead boring. Pun not intended.

_Why don't they fire him, already?_

Rose read this note, as she quickly scribbled something back.

**Think it's because he can't go from this position. He can no longer move 'beyond the veil' and will have to be a Hogwarts ghost FOREVER. But, that's not the point. He can't let go of this position until someone sacks him, which makes him an ideal teacher, and he'll have to teach forever, no matter how much he protests.**

_That kind of makes me pity him._

**Don't. Waste of your time. I think he actually ENJOYS it. I seriously wonder HOW. **

_You gotta be kidding me, right? _

**Wish I was. **

Hannah rubbed her temple as she read Rose's last note. _This is going to be a long semester._

* * *

Hannah enjoyed potions. It was fun to watch the other Slytherins screw up, when the potions blew up in their faces.

"You okay?" Hannah had asked, in mock worry. "Let me help you…" Hannah had gotten another vial filled with some disgusting things, and broke it over the other Slytherin. "Oh my! I'm so sorry!"

The Slytherin glared at her, and politely asked the teacher if she could be excused. With her teeth clenched, of course. Hannah cackled as she looked at the potion they were supposed to try to make. She recalled Professor Slughorn's words clearly.

"_Today, we are going to try something different," he said, happily, his stomach bouncing. "Today, we are going to attempt in making the Cure for Boils. Now, it is perfectly fine if you _don't _succeed, but nevertheless, please try!"_

Hannah had gritted her teeth and collected all the ingredients for the potion, and scowled at the part where it said, _add a dash of Flobberworm mucus_.

_This is disgusting_, Hannah thought, grimly. All she wanted to do was rip the_ Book of Potions_ apart. "Where are the Pungous Onions?"

Hannah reached over for them as she also grabbed a cutting knife slicing the Onions choppily, not caring how her potion turned out. Hannah had read a side note saying if it was brewed incorrectly, it would _give _you boils, instead of curing them.

_What a perfect potion to test out on Sophie, _thought Hannah, dryly. As she threw her Onions in, she heated the potion, and added dried nettle afterwards. _Flobberworm mucus… stir vigorously… _

And Hannah did. Her arm was sore afterwards, but it was better than most Slytherins, who tried to use magic to make the stirring spoon stir for themselves.

_Add a sprinkle of powdered ginger root and stir vigorously again._

_Add pickled Shrake spines._

_Stir gently, so as not to over excite the Shrake spines._

_Add a glug of stewed horned slugs._

_Add porcupine quills._

_Finally, wave your wand over the cauldron to finish the potion._

Hannah groaned as she continued to read the instructions, trying to scan for some shortcuts. Unfortunately not. Hannah stole glances at the other Slytherins, and could unfortunately not mooch off of Sophie's, Caroline's or Rose's work, because the Slytherins had the dungeons to themselves. Oh, joy. So far, it looked like Hannah was the farthest. _Stir gently…_

BOOM.

Hannah's hand jerked, as some of the potion went flying, right into another Slytherin's eye. She looked wildly, for the source of the noise, and saw a Slytherin who had blown up her potion, and the contents were dripping down the table.

"Oh my!" Professor Slughorn walked on over, in dismay. "Are you alright? Let's get you to the Hospital Wing… You! Can you assist this lady back to the Hospital Wing?"

He had pointed at the boy Hannah had splashed her potion with, the boy, now swelling with boils.

"Oh dear…" Professor Slughorn said worried. He looked panicked as he looked at the boy. "I will now escort you too to the Hospital Wing…"

Hannah absent-mindedly nodded as she continued her potion. _Add a glug of stewed horned slugs._ Done.

"Please stay here and try to finish your potions _correctly_," Professor Slughorn told the class, already nearly out of the dungeons. "Better yet, do _not _do anything with your potions!"

Hannah blatantly ignored this as she was on the last step. _Finally, wave your wand over the cauldron to finish the potion. _Hannah did this and grasped a vial from her side, carefully filling it with the potion. Well, some splashed out (okay, a lot) but the majority of the vial was full and Hannah slammed that down on Professor Slughorn's desk. She got a roll of parchment, scribbled her name on it and put it beside it. "Anyone take it, I will _kill you_."

The Slytherins shrugged, their eyes glinting mischievously, but some shifted, nervously. Hannah flounced out of the room.

* * *

"Now I see why I've always hated levitation classes in North America," Hannah groaned as she tried to fly more than seven feet. She looked over at Rose, who was also having difficulty.

"I wonder how dad enjoys this…" Rose trailed off, nearly slipping off her broom. "Or Uncle Harry!"

"I can't believe how they actually make you _learn _how to fly!" Hannah said disgruntled. "This is the most dangerous thing _ever_! I – officially – hate flying!"

"Now!" they heard Madame Hooch bark. "Try to gently urge your broom forward. Use a commanding, warm tone, so the broom acknowledges who the rider is, a good confident one, yet a gentle one as well."

_Go… erm, forward? _Hannah thought, nervously. She stole a glance at Rose, and saw the look of incredulous expression on her face.

"Can I just quit?" Rose whispered to Hannah. "This is ridiculous. Stupid. _Why_?"

"To torture the students," Hannah suggested. "Are we that bad?"

"Possibly," Rose gripped he broom, hard, until her knuckles turned white. "Can we get back down?"

"Poor you," Hannah said, almost sympathetically. "At least I've got a bit of a cushion."

"How, again?" Rose asked, trying not to look down.

"I can levitate a bit, so the fall won't be as hard," Hannah explained, moving at a snails pace. "So I'm half-safe."

"Please catch me if I fall," Rose begged, moving even slower than Hannah.

"Now, please try turning, class!" ordered Madame Hooch, once again.

"Merlin, I'm not even going forward properly," Rose groaned. "Turn… turn… please turn and don't kill me…"

_Turn… please turn… right, I guess_, Hannah thought as the broom slowly inched to the right. Hannah looked up, and she saw some Ravenclaw and Slytherin boys playing a full out match of Quidditch. _How do they do that_?

"Boys! Get down!" Madame Hooch shouted to the boys. "I understand you know how to fly, but please try to stay level with the class."

Hannah heard an assortment of grumbles, but they dipped down to where Rose and Hannah were. A.K.A twenty feet. Hannah slipped a bit, and squealed, nearly going upside down, like a sloth.

"Careful!" Rose warned. "You might have a cushion, but it will still hurt an awful lot."

"You're the one to talk," Hannah snorted as she tried to right herself on the broom. "I hate flying."

"Same here…" Rose trailed off, closing her eyes, trying not to look at the ground. "Same here…"

* * *

Hannah crashed landed on her bed, one of the only nice things in the Slytherin House. It was soft and bouncy, yet hard as well. Hannah wondered how Customaries lived without magic, or anything related to magic. Her bag had tipped off the bed, and she could hear a few of the books tumble out, but at the moment, she couldn't care less.

_Detention… detention with Binns_, a tiny voice said to her, pecking at her. _Super annoying ghost teacher. _

Hannah smirked at the last comment, and lifted her eyes, trying to get a sense of where she was. She barely recalled Binns' words. _Seven o' clock? Nine o' clock? Eight o' clock? Screw it, I'm leaving now. Don't want to spend more detentions with that loony old spectre._

* * *

Hannah rubbed her temples as she continued to listen to Professor Binns dull lectures. _You've got to be kidding me, right? Listening to _more _lectures? Shoot, I've got Astronomy in half an hour._

"Erm, Professor Binns?" Hannah raised her hand tentatively.

"Hmm?" Professor Binns looked startled. "Why are you here? Young lady, please kindly escort yourself from my classroom."

"But –"

"No buts, Miss Sanders," Professor Binns interrupted. "Out!"

Hannah scowled, fiercely as she whispered, "It's _Stewart_, bimbo, and you _gave me detention_."

"Oh, had detention with Professor Binns?" Rose popped up. "Don't bother even going to them. He'll forget his own head if he wasn't a ghost."

Hannah gave a small smile. "So does that mean I completely wasted three hours and thirty minutes of my life?"

"You were in there for _three hours_?" Rose asked, her mouth gaping.

"Don't forget the extra thirty minutes," Hannah corrected. "And yeah. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Rose laughed. "Sorry, must've slipped my mind. Don't we have Astronomy together?"

"Mmm," Hannah checked if she had everything for Astronomy and yawned. "Why does Astronomy need to be so late?"

"We're looking at the sky – the stars," Rose replied. "It kind of _needs _to be late."

Hannah grinned, and took a step forward then froze. "I just realized. I know nothing about you – besides that you're nice and in Ravenclaw."

"I don't either," pointed out, Rose. "Let's play twenty questions on the way to Astronomy."

"Favourite colour?" Hannah asked, deciding to start it off, easy. "Mines purple."

"Blue," Rose said, breezily. "Favourite animal? Mines a lynx."

"Dolphin," Hannah answered. "What was it that you said last? I called Professor Binns a bimbo."

Confusion dawned on Rose's face, which lead to immense laughter. "Y-you c-called Professor Binns a _bimbo_? D-do you even _know _w-what it means?"

Hannah frowned. "Should I?"

"A bimbo is a – a –" Rose doubled over laughing. Her face looked horrified now. "I just got the mental image. That… that does _not _look proper."

"What?" Hannah demanded. "What does it mean?"

"It means," Rose lowered her voice. "An attractive but dumb woman."

Hannah stood dumbstruck, while Rose was laughing. Hannah grumbled, "Oh, shut up, Rose."

Rose ceased her laughing, but she was still grinning wildly. "Alright, alright, I will."

Hannah yawned. "Hey, if I sleep in, wake me up, mm?"

"No promises," Hannah rolled her eyes at this.

"Can I just ditch this class?" Hannah whined. "Why… why friggin' midnight?"

"Unfortunately not," Rose grinned. "Mum quit Divination in her third year, but she says not to quit any subject. Quite hypocritical, in my opinion. Plus, Astronomy isn't the worst, and we only have it once a week."

"Fair enough," Hannah shrugged. "But still."

As they trudged up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower ("The tallest tower," Rose informed Hannah.), their legs got sore, as the hour ticked by, getting closer and closer to midnight.

"I swear," Hannah heaved. "I will lose twenty pounds by the end of this semester."

Rose let out throaty laugh. "Yes… I agree with you on that."

Hannah checked her bag for her telescope, barely fitting. "You've got your telescope, right?"

"Yup," Rose clucked her tongue. "Barely fit. I need a new bag."

Hannah looked at her watch, reading 11:52. She looked up at the spiraling staircase, and saw it nearly ended. "C'mon, Rose, just a few more steps."

When they reached the top, they noticed some students from Ravenclaw and Slytherin had already set up their telescopes and such.

Their Professor frowned. "Please try to be earlier, girls. Please, set up your telescopes and please take out some parchment and your quills."

"Yes, Professor… erm," Hannah paused, not sure what to say.

"Sinistra, dear," Professor Sinistra said, as she waved him off. "Now, please, go set up your equipment."

Rose and Hannah hastily went to set up their telescopes, proving to be easier than they thought. "I thought it would be more difficult… like everything else in Hogwarts…"

Rose scribbled the date on her parchment, as she looked up at the sky. "Oh, look! You can see Orion's Belt from here."

Rose pointed up, and Hannah saw three stars, right next to each other. "That thingy?"

"Yup," Rose smiled. "That's the one. Stars are beautiful, aren't they?"

Hannah drew in a breath. "Yeah. Now I kind of see why Sophie likes this better than magic."

"Now," Professor Sinistra said, her telescope already set up in the proper place. "Can you see the Plough? If you cannot spot it, it is over there on the left."

Hannah steered her eyes to it, and saw the spoon like constellation.

"The Plough, or otherwise known as the the Big Dipper, is made out of seven stars, the stars known as Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid," Professor Sinistra explained, Hannah quickly fumbling for some parchment. "Muggles discovered the Plough in 1942. Wizards, of course, discovered this much earlier, in 1321 and was identified by Sage the Stargazer. Sage the Stargazer should be found in your book, _Stars, Galaxies and Astronomers_, on page 56."

Hannah mutely nodded, copying down all the star names of the Big Dipper (Plough, whatever) and splattered her parchment with ink.

"Wizarding legend has it that the Plough's star's contained a magical substance that contained good luck to whatever you were doing farming related," Professor Sinistra explained. "Very absurd, but like Muggles, wizards had their superstitions. Now, can anyone tell me what constellation that one is?"

Hannah directed her eyes to the constellation, it kind of looking like a serpent. Hannah scrunched up her nose, trying to remember what Sophie had said. Rose's hand shot up in the air.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"That's Draco the Dragon," Rose answered promptly. "It contains 14 main stars."

"Five points to Ravenclaw," awarded Professor Sinistra. "Now…"

* * *

Hannah yawned, as her eyes drooped, trying to focus on her porridge. It was sprinkled with raspberries – the way Hannah liked it – but all Hannah could do was just try not to sleep. _Why-y-y-y midnight? I'm going to fall asleep in one of these classes, one day, because of Astronomy._

"Hey, Stewart!" Hannah lifted her eyes, to see a short, brown haired girl. "Try not to sleep! We don't need a filthy foreigner to lose us points!"

Hannah raised her hand, and a small ball of fire appeared. "Do you _want _to test me?"

The girl suddenly looked afraid, but she rose up to her full height, which still wasn't that impressive. "What can _you _do? I bet that fireball couldn't even light a _candle_."

"I could burn off your eyebrows," Hannah said evenly. "I haven't done it to anyone, yet, but I _want _to, and I _will_. So, shove off, or as you Brits say it, _sod _off, will you?"

The girl's cheeks tinged red, as Hannah glared heatedly at her. "You know what? I think I lost my appetite."

Hannah strided from her seat and out of the Great Hall, trying to avoid stares, and terrified looks. She went down and leaned against a tree near the Black Lake.

_Oh, why did I have to agree to this? _Hannah thought, miserably._ This is going to be a heck of a year._

* * *

Disclaimer

We do not own anything you recognize.

**Author's Note**

Well there's chapter 4! Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will be in Albus' point of view.

Thanks to _masters.g11g _for following and favourite-ing! Have some donuts! (o) (o) (o) (o)

Remember, reviews are loved!

And for everyone else, thank you,

_BlueDaylighter _& _QuietlyImagining _


	5. Chapter 5 - Albus

Chapter 5 - Albus

Albus rubbed his temple as he concentrated on finishing his Potions essay. Unfortunately, Albus had not inherited his late Grandmother Lily's genes in excelling in everything (including Potions, Slughorn had told him – "Bloody brilliant was she! One of my best students!" – also praising Dad's work, which greatly confused him) – but rather inherited his father's dislike in Potions. Which made no sense if his father excelled at it…

_Bloody brilliant_, he groaned, blotching out some words. His four inch long essay on the ingredients of the Cure of Boils potion wasn't even an inch full, as he remembered that Professor Slughorn had requested small writing. No, sorry, not requested, more like, _demanded_. Albus looked out the window, the sky darkening, the sky becoming a deep indigo. The wax from the candle was dripping, he pulling his fingers back – scorched from the burn.

Albus scowled at the stars, them mocking him, sighing as he once more dipped his quill into the ink bottle. He wasn't great at smarts nor sports - Albus' strongest point was in academics – not terribly brilliant like Aunt Hermione, but like his mother. He was the smarter than James – even with the extra years, yet his older brother was the doted upon one. The only class he was lacking in was Potions.

"Hello," a cool voice greeted Albus, as he spun around on his stool. "May I be of any assistance?"

Albus studied the girl. She had chestnut hair, and brown eyes and a sharp nose. "And who are you?" It might have been a tad rude, but Albus was too irritated to care. "I don't think I've seen you before."

"Zila," said girl introduced. "Zila Allen. I'm older than you."

"I know that, you weren't in the Sorting Ceremony." Albus exhaled. "And may I ask _why _you are talking to me?"

"You look like you need help on the Potions assignment," Zila explained, her eyes nothing but warm and friendly. Instead, they were cold and arrogant. "And I can give you that. I was best in my first year, and I'm still best in my second year. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm better than some of those nimrods who call themselves seventh years."

Albus was horrified by her pride.

"I mean, honestly, some of those people call themselves _smart_," Zila scoffed. Albus decided then he didn't need or _want _her help.

He put on a tight smile. "Thanks a lot but… I'd rather do it myself. Thank you for your offer, though."

Zila looked a bit disappointed, but that same cold smile was back. "Oh, don't worry. Tell me anything that you need help on, and I'll aid you in any way. Well… bye Albert!"

Albus ignored her purposefully incorrect name-calling and once more sighed, pulling out another piece of parchment, and starting his Potions essay again, the flames of the Common Room's fireplace crackling as the sun dipped below the horizon.

* * *

Albus tried his hardest not to look jealous as James zoomed by on his broom. James had played Keeper fairly well, even learning from Uncle Ron. He sighed, wondering how he got no Quidditch skill _at all_. A mother who played for the Holyhead Harpies and a father who became Seeker in his first year, and it was hard for him to stay on a broom for more than two minutes. Albus slumped further into the Quidditch stands, watching James play like a pro. Rose wasn't good either, but she excelled in school, like Aunt Hermione. It was so bloody _hard _trying to live up to such famous parents. One was part of the 'Golden Trio' and the 'Chosen One' and his other parent played for the an excellent Quidditch team for some time, still fairly famous. He was imperfect – he knew everyone was – but Albus wished he was best at _something_. And that Allen girl hadn't helped.

"Al?" Albus heard his name, and looked around. "Al, don't leave me hanging."

Albus saw James, appearing to be faintly worried, but still had his cocky smirk in place. "Good, I thought you were zoning out on me."

"I _was_," Albus stood up, stretching. "Zoning out, I mean." He eyed his brother, wondering how he could fly so well. "Also, how are you out here? Don't you need to book the pitch?"

"Little brother," James yawned. "D'you honestly think I would follow the rules? We aren't supposed to be out here, Al. Just practicing."

"You won't get Sophie like that, James," Albus pointed out, rubbing salt into a wound. He saw his older brother tense, but he was soon back into his easygoing manner.

"Oh, Sophie?" James said, obviously pretending to have forgotten her. "Why should I fancy a first-year, anyways? She's going away in a year. Besides, it would never work… I'm over her, if that's what you mean."

Albus sighed, knowing his brother was full in denial. He let it go anyways. "Sure, James. I'm going back inside my dorm." Silently he wondered how James had convinced him outside in the first place.

"C'mon, Al," whined James. "Don't leave me alone. I know you can't fly, but so can't Rose. She _hates _flying. Okay, okay, Lily's alright… but that's not the point!"

"That makes me feel _so _much better, James," Albus rolled his eyes. "To remind me I'm the only one in the family who can't fly well. Thanks."

"Hey, I did say _Rose_, you know!"

Albus grimaced. The wind was howling hard, whipping his hair across his face and scratching him. "Why do you even _try _to practice in this weather, James? This is completely mental."

James shrugged goodnaturedly. "Anything to get the Quidditch Cup. We were _so _close last year. Hufflepuff got it! _Hufflepuff_. Can you imagine the _embarrassment_?!"

"No." Albus started descending the steps of the Quidditch stands. "But I can imagine the drama from you, of course."

"Bye, Al!" James called out. "Make up some excuse for me, will you?"

Albus huffed, knowing no matter how much he didn't want to, he would. After all, James _was _his brother.

* * *

He needed sleep.

Yes, Albus needed sleep more than he ever thought he would, what with the monstrous amount of homework the first-years were being set. Yet his mind refused to get that unreachable rest, instead going over incantations and events of the day. Weeks had passed since James had been caught practicing Quidditch on that wind-tossed field, and Albus' quill hand had gotten quite sore. He shook it violently, trying to get the numbness out of his wrist and fingers. Christmas break was two days away, and Albus' Dad had sent him a letter, encouraging him to invite someone to spend Christmas with. He knew James would invite Sophie and Rose (he had heard her and Hannah were quite close friends), so why not invite Caroline? After all, this was a once in a lifetime chance, even if she did seem a little...off.

_Besides_, he found himself thinking. _There's no one else to invite._

He walked down the steps of his dorm, to the Common Room, rubbing his eyes. He was still in his beige nightclothes, and trudged down the remaining steps, glancing at an old grandfather clock, reading _5:35_. Albus sighed, combing his hair with his fingers. When he reached the bottom, he found Caroline writing a letter.

"What are you doing?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Who's that letter for?"

Caroline jumped, a knife immediately popping into her hand. "Who the he–? Oh, Albus. Hey, erm, hi. The letter...it's for... wait. Why should I tell_ you_?"

"I dunno. Is that letter for your parents?" Albus shrugged. "You probably miss them."

"Er, yeah, sure." Caroline covered flusteredly, heat spreading on her cheeks. "Why are you awake so early?"

"Couldn't sleep," Albus told her truthfully. "You?"

"Same." She answered quickly. _Too _quickly. The knife in her hand disappeared. "Was there anything you wanted from me?"

"Oh, uh, as a matter of fact, yes," Albus shifted on his feet. "Would you like to come over to my house during Christmas break? I only mean, um, because my Dad said I could invite someone, so..."

Albus saw Caroline's jaw tense, but that was quickly gone. Maybe he had imagined it. He forged on. "I know we aren't the best of friends, but James is inviting Sophie and Rose is inviting Hannah so…"

"You're pitying me," Caroline said flatly. Her gaze was hard, but there was disbelief colouring her eyes. "But…" she hesitated, as if wondering if it was a good idea. "Are Dopey and Hannah coming?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet…" Albus admitted. "But it can't be _that _bad, can it?"

"It _can _be," Caroline said, her face still guarded. "But I can handle whatever you throw at me. When and where?"

Albus silently groaned, regretting asking her.

* * *

Albus grunted as he lifted his luggage out of the train. James, Rose, Sophie, Caroline and Hannah were patiently – bar Hannah and Caroline – waiting for him, and he soon managed to get his trunk loose. "Ready?"

"We've been ready for ages, Al," informed James. "It's you who hasn't been ready."

Albus rolled his eyes, as the group walked out the train. "So. Our parents are nice enough – actually they're really nice –"

"Al?" Rose questioned. Albus turned to her. "You're rambling. Well, you were going to."

"Thanks, Rose." Albus glowered at his cousin. "I do _not _ramble!"

Caroline patted his shoulder. "Dude, I've known you for...what is it, four months? And yes, you _do _ramble."

"Sorry, Al," said Sophie sheepishly. "You kind of do."

"Amen to that," concluded Hannah. Rose and James snickered.

As they rounded the corner, Albus saw his Mum and Dad, a bespectacled man and a cheerful redheaded woman. "Over there, the woman with the red hair is my Mum and beside her is Dad."

"Which? You know, there isn't only _one _woman with red hair," remarked Hannah.

"Over there! Come on, the two running towards us. Well, pushing," James amended. "It's far too crowded."

"And there's _my_ Mum and Dad," Rose piped up. "The one with the bushy brown hair. Beside her is my dad – the one with the red hair."

"Jesus, can you just point them out when _we can actually see them_?" Hannah huffed. "I mean, seriously, there's _way _too many people here! Witches and wizards alike."

Mr. Potter and Mrs. Potter soon arrived, looking a little more tired than they should've been. Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley quickly came as well.

"Where's Dom?" was Mr. Weasley's first question.

"She's staying at Hogwarts, Dad," Rose said, while hugging Hugo. "Said she needed to do more homework. I doubt that, though. Didn't Aunt Fleur tell you? Or Uncle Bill?"

"I suppose not," Mr. Weasley ruffled Rose's hair. "Ravenclaw, eh?"

Rose blushed. "I – I… Dominique's in Hufflepuff." Rose finished weakly, her statement sounding more like a question.

"Nice to meet you," Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat, addressing the foreigners. "Call me Hermione."

"Harry," Mr. Potter said.

"Ginny. And my brother is Ron," Mrs. Potter answered.

"Can _I_ call you Harry, Dad?" James asked, slyly.

"In your dreams, James," Dad chuckled. "So… can you all tell me your names?"

"Caroline," Caroline answered immediately. "Nice, er, to meet you. Albus has told us a lot of… good things about you." Albus thought he heard her choking a bit.

"Sophie," said the blonde, sticking her hand out shyly. "Lovely to meet you as well."

Dad and Uncle Ron both shook, while the rest of the adults smiled.

"Hannah," she said, tapping her foot. "Shouldn't you already know us, though? I mean, we _did _make headlines. Also, I think it's pretty obvious I'm from Mexico."

Dad raised his eyebrow, questioning Albus silently if she was always like this. He nodded back, smiling slightly.

"Well, you kids must be tired, why don't we hurry back home?" Mum suggested. "Rose and Hugo can come over as well."

"Sounds wonderful! We'll pick them up at around 9, shall we?" asked Aunt Hermione.

"Oh, no - come with us! We can't let you two go home alone, I have two pies in the oven. In fact, you know, you two should stay the night with us! Oh, actually, how about the entire break? Would that - "

She and Mum continued chatting amicably out of the station. _A wonder how they can hear each other, _thought Albus. _I swear it's doubly as full as when we was taking the train to Hogwarts._

"Ugh, I'm SOOOOOOOO tired, please tell me we're nearly there." Caroline groaned

Uncle Ron did nothing to hide his appalled expression before Aunt Hermione jabbed him in the ribs. "'Mione, even _I _wasn't that impatient!"

"But you were far more blunt," she injected. "Let's get into the car."

"Let's," Caroline said, plopping her luggage into Albus' arms. "I'm _exhausted_!" He promptly staggered back under the weight of the large suitcase.

Sophie cleared her throat. "Caroline, hold your own luggage. Albus looks like he's going to faint. What in the _world _did you pack in there?"

She was silent.

"Caroline?"

"... stuff."

"Okay, okay." relented Sophie.

"Aaaand, here we are!" announced Uncle Ron, gesturing to a small old-fashioned-looking car. Hannah stared at the thing.

"How are we all going to fit in there?" she demanded.

Dad smiled. "We _are _wizards."

"Of course, of course." muttered Hannah, rolling her eyes.

* * *

Albus watched the other cars whizz by, counting the different colors. _Thirty-six silvers...that's the second red I've seen...wow, a black car? I wonder why people get those...they're practically targets for bird poo…_

Rose nudged him gently. "Hey, Albus. Are you alright? You've been unusually quiet. Not that you're usually not quiet, what I mean is that you're more so than usual."

"Hm? Oh...just thinking. If there's anyone more quiet than usual, though, it's James."

Indeed, James had been silent since he had laughed at Hannah's joke.

"Probably making doe eyes at Sophie, I expect," said Rose. They shared a brief laugh together. It was quickly cut short by the tension in the car, which was more likely than not caused by the fact that Caroline and Hannah were throwing Sophie's hairband to each other above her head.

Eventually the girl gave up and merely adjusted her hair. "How long will it take to reach your house, Mrs. Ginny?"

"Thirty minutes driving, Sophie," Mum told her, tapping her wristwatch. "Don't worry, it won't seem like long. Would you do something for me? Don't call me Mrs, it makes me sound old."

"I've got a question," Caroline said suddenly. "Why would you wizards use a car when you can just Apparate? Or use other means of magical transportation?"

Dad and Aunt Hermione smiled at each other. "We were raised by Muggles. We like to keep our roots."

Caroline shrugged, as did Hannah but Sophie gave a small smile. "I can relate to that."

"Are _you_ a Muggle-born, dear?" Aunt Hermione said, her eyes sparking with interest. "I am too, if you're wondering."

"Yes, I am ," answered she. "Hannah's a half-blood and Caroline's a pure-blood – just to let you know."

"What kind of magic can you do again, Sophie?" asked James. "I have bad memory."

_More like trying to get Sophie to talk to you,_ Albus rolled his eyes. James could remember every single play in the Quidditch playbook, but he somehow _can't _remember Sophie's magical powers? A smirk quirked onto Albus' lips.

"Oh, well, nothing much," said Sophie modestly. "I can hover a bit, create a _very _small flame, but Hannah can do it better."

"Oh yeah, I saw," laughed Rose. "Served that Slytherin girl right."

Hannah tried to suppress a satisfied smirk. "I try. It helps when I feel about something strongly, you know."

Albus shuddered. Caroline and Hannah scared him, but Caroline more so. Especially Caroline after that night. Albus shoved that thought out of his mind as he looked out the window some more. He saw pedestrians, bicycles...all the Muggle things. He sighed, his breath fogging up the window, and wrote;

_**What will I do with my life?**_

* * *

The Potter's house was quaint and cozy. Albus inhaled the familiar scent of his home as he gestured for Caroline, Hannah and Sophie to follow him up the stairs. "D'you mind sharing rooms? We've got one guest room.I guess James and Hugo can be in my room, Rose can share with Lily and you can all share–"

"We've got it," Sophie interrupted gently. "Thank you for everything you've done, Albus."

"You're welcome." Albus nodded absently, leaving them to unpack inside the picturesque chamber. "Just call for Mum, Dad, James or me if you need help."

"Thanks Albus," Sophie smiled as she closed the door. She abruptly pushed the door open again, making a faint breeze tousle Albus' hair. "Er, when's dinner?"

"I s'pose James will tell you," shrugged Albus. "We don't really have a dinnertime, Sophie. Just whenever we're hungry, I guess. Oh and –" Albus lowered his voice, "– do try to avoid Mum's cooking. She's dreadful – can't cook like Grandma Molly at all – so try to eat only Dad's. He's okay."

"Tha –"

"Dopey, shut the door!" exclaimed Caroline. "Hurry up!"

"Sorry, Albus. See you at dinner," said Sophie. She hastily pulled the door shut

Albus rolled his eyes as he trudged down the steps. "Mum – when's dinner?"

* * *

Dinner was… out of the ordinary, you could say.

"Bonkers," James whispered to Albus. "Is what this is. _What _is Caroline doing?"

Albus gave a feeble shrug, watching Caroline play with the knives. She jabbed Sophie with the butt of the knife, near the rib cage. Sophie arched her back and yelped.

"Sorry, sorry," Sophie apologized, quickly. "Don't mind me. Don't mind me…"

James looked faintly concerned, stabbing at his potatoes, trying not to make it blatantly obvious he was inspecting if it was his Mum's or Dad's cooking.

"Eat it, James," ordered Dad, giving a wink at Albus. He accordingly started eating, finding his potatoes unpoisoned.

"Caroline, you didn't poison this, did you?" Sophie started poking the potatoes. James looked horrified, pushing away his plate, immediately.

"Shhhh! Don't give away all my secrets!" hissed Caroline, a devious smile on her face.

"Don't mind them," Hannah rolled her eyes. "They're kidding. It's an inside joke we share in America."

Caroline stopped fooling around, her eyes widening, looking at Hannah in mock-horror. "What did you do to Hannah and where is she?! Actually, I don't want to know where she is. You can keep her."

Hannah rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Well, _someone _has to be civil, don't they? You two look like barbarians." Hannah tossed some of her hair behind her shoulder. "Adults will more likely believe in _me _before _you_."

"Haha, very funny Hannah," scoffed Caroline. "At least I can do _some _work."

"Correction," corrected Hannah in a snooty voice. "You make _Dopey _do it."

Hannah and Caroline continued to squabble on until Sophie quickly excused all three of them, leaving the dinner table.

"Tell me, Albus," Dad said, his eyes shining with amusement. "Are they _always _like that?"

"They remind me of us, when we were young," laughed Uncle Ron. "Sophie is Harry, Caroline is 'Mione and I'm Hannah."

Mum smirked as she sipped some of her water. "Interesting theory, brother, dear, but I would think they are more like Neville, Luna and I."

"How?" challenged Uncle Ron, trying to raise an eyebrow. "Tell me."

"Luna's –"

"Alright!" interrupted Aunt Hermione suddenly. "Act a bit more mature, Ron. Our _children _are watching us."

_So? _was written all over Uncle Ron's face, but Aunt Hermione let it go.

"Hey, Albus, James," Rose said, her eyes shining with interest. "Did you know, not only was _Merlin _a wizard but _Arthur _was as well?"

"D'you mean the King? With the knights?" questioned James, eating his food at a fast pace. "Really? Why did that chap hire a wizard to do all his stuff for him, then?"

"Apparently, Arthur was in Hufflepuff," huffed Rose. "Huff… le… puff. Can you _believe _that? I mean, he was so strong and courageous and… well, arrogant! It says in _Famous Figures Not Well Known as Wizards and Witches _that Arthur apparently didn't have the knack for magic, and he hired Merlin."

"Oh," Albus said, not very interested.

"Huh, well the Hufflepuff part makes a bit more sense now," Rose decided. "Even in the old days, it said that Gryffindor and Slytherin had a grudge."

"That part's a bit obvious, Rose," said Albus dryly. "I mean, the only Gryffindor and Slytherin who've ever gotten along are basically Hannah and Caroline and even _they _always fight."

They were interrupted by James gagging on his meal. When Mum raised an eyebrow he choked out an "Excuse me" before rushing to a nearby bathroom, where the sounds of vomiting were rather obvious.

Albus tapped Rose's leg under the table. "What did he eat last?" he whispered.

She leaned forward to inspect James' plate. "The turkey," Rose whispered back.

Albus stopped short, a forkful of meat halfway to his mouth. He gingerly laid it on the side of his plate. "Thanks."

He finished off the rest of his food and discreetly tipped the turkey onto the floor before dropping his plate in the sink, noting that the girls' were already there. "Dad, where's Lily?"

"Oh! She's at Aunt Fleur's. Come to think of it, they should drop her off soon. Would you check on Sophie and the lot?"

"Sure." Albus ran upstairs to the guest room. He could faintly hear a conversation behind the door.

"They're late. We need to do this quickly."

"No! Then we'll give them more time to… someone's there."

Albus knocked, a little embarrassed. "Are you alright? Anything I can do for you?"

When he peered into the door, Caroline's face was in a scowl, Hannah's was harsh and even Sophie's was a bit annoyed.

"Is there anything _we_ can do for you, Albus?" asked Sophie. She was tapping her foot against the ground, trying not to look to impatient.

"No, no," replied Albus quickly. "Dad just wanted me to check on you lot. I suppose I'll just go down now."

Sophie face softened and said, "Well tell your Dad thank you for checking in on us. I think we'll sleep a bit early tonight. Where's the bathroom?"

"Do you mean the loo?" Albus said. "It's down the hall, first door on the right."

"Alright, thanks," Sophie thanked Albus. "Good night." And she closed the door on him again.

At that moment a young girl screamed "ALBUS!" and glomped him from behind, knocking him onto his face.

"Urgh...hi, Lily...do you mind getting off me?" Albus requested, his voice muffled by the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, sure! I was at Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's, and Teddy was there too! He's so funny. He can make himself look like that mean guy Uncle Ron was talking about on the Hogwarts station and talk in funny voices. But Dom wasn't there. Uncle Bill said she wanted to stay at Hogwarts. Why?" Lily said, all in one breath.

"Lily. Off." ordered Albus.

His younger sister jumped off him. "So do you know why Dom wanted to stay at Hogwarts?"

"No...but maybe Sophie does…"

"Who's Sophie? Eeeeee! Visitors!" Lily raced into the room and attached herself to the nearest person, which happened to be Caroline.

"Lily!" Albus warned. "Don't go there… oh… cr –"

"Get off –!" Caroline roared furiously.

"Hi!" Lily said happily. "My name's Lily. I was named after my Grandmother. Who're you? Are you one of those foreign kids? Who? Are you Sophie? Ohh, what –"

"Albus! And how dare you mistake me for the Dope!" Caroline exclaimed, trying to calm Lily down by slamming her hand on her mouth. "Oh, ew, ew, ew! This is even worse than the Grinch!"

"What?"

"ALBUS!"

_I asked for this, _Albus thought, remembering writing _what will I do with my life _on the window. _And now I've got to handle it._

* * *

"What the _hell_, Albus?" screamed Caroline as soon as Lily was put to bed. "One more bloody… oh… it's all your fault! I'm turning British now!"

"Why's that a bad thing?" Albus asked, trying not to look offended and confused by the random topic change. "Being British isn't bad!"

"It is to me!" mock-wept Caroline. "I'm American! _American_! There is a _reason _why some parts of England spell color, C-O-L-O-U-R and the US spells it C-O-L-O-R."

"What's that got to do with anything?" questioned Albus, his mind trying to keep up with the topic changes. "I thought we were talking about –"

"Ugh, whatever," Caroline said, fed up. "Good _night_."

"What's with the rage quitting?" Albus asked, curious. "All of you Americans are doing it! Lower your pride!"

"Says the guy who's in _Gryffindor _along with me!" Caroline retorted back. "And for the final time, good _night_!"

* * *

Disclaimer

We do not own anything you recognize.

**Author's Note**

Thank you to FredMischiefmanagedGeorge for following and reviewing! (O) (O) (O) (O) (Donuts for you!) Also, thank you for correcting us on our mistake. We would've never noticed. XD. Also, addressing your review, Sophie and Caroline's friendship is quite... complicated, you could say. So if you see Caroline being extremely nice to her, then very mean, don't worry. That's how it should be. But thank you for reviewing!

Remember, reviews, favourites and follows are loved,

_BlueDaylighter & QuietlyImagining _


	6. Chapter 6 - Rose

Chapter 6 - Rose

A dull gray light blossomed over her face, filtering through the blinds on her window and spreading across pale skin and a mess of dark, fiery curls. Soft cocoa eyes blinked open to the wintry sunlight of December.

Rose shivered under her covers: a tank top, sweats and quilt were not enough to keep the chill out of her bones. Little by little, she wriggled out from bed, and her voluminous red hair fell over her eyes. She didn't bother brushing it behind her ears – it would spring back anyway.

Rose grabbed her wand and stuffed it behind her ear, then tiptoed to the makeshift bed where Lily lay snoring.

_Asleep, _she thought, _was probably the only time she's manageable._

As silently as she could, she entered her walk-in closet and slowly pulled the door shut. Rose flicked on a switch and was greeted with shelves upon shelves of clothing outlining a large mirror. She'd been so happy when this was installed. It was very generous of Uncle Harry to have an entire closet and enchanted mirror built into Lily's room, just for her.

She searched for something dear to her among her collection and finally found a navy and cream striped hoodie. She tapped it twice with her wand and returned to the mirror.

Rose's reflection turned in a circle with the hoodie on, looking slightly uncomfortable. _Too small, _it said in her mother's voice. Quietly, thank goodness. She'd forgotten to mute the thing.

She waved her wand towards the ground, and a little meter appeared on the screen, its bars dropping to one. What would she wear? Of course she was only in the house, but she wanted something nice after wearing the Hogwarts uniform for four months.

A curly sapphire script wrote itself across the mirror, and her reflection mouthed the words in unison. _May I suggest something?_

Rose nodded and watched it twirl into a duo-color red and white V-neck sweater with a green pine stitched on the back.

_Would you like to wear this?_

"Sure. Where is it?" Rose asked.

A section of one of the shelves to the right flashed blue. She headed towards it and peeled off several other sweaters before revealing what she wanted. Rose quickly pulled it over her head and flicked off the light switch. In the darkness, the mirror spelled out a final message: _Enjoy your Christmas break._

She pushed the door open and slunk through the room to the door leading to the outer hall.

_Oh no._

Lily's door was incredibly creaky. If she opened it, Lily would wake up. And as much as she loved her cousin, she loved the cold peace too. Well, there was nothing that could be done about it…

At a snail's pace, Rose turned the knob and with bated breath, nudged the painted wood and let out sigh of relief when she quietly slipped out, leaving Lily snoring peacefully.

"Hey, Mum," Rose said, swinging around the table to get to the kitchen, where her mother was drying cups. Most probably from last night. Rose lowered her voice. "Tell me _please _Aunt Ginny isn't going to cook lunch and dinner today."

Mum gave her a stern look, as she handed Rose cups to put back in the cupboard. "Don't say rude things about your Aunt's cooking, Rose. It's not polite."

"Yet Dad always does," pointed out Rose. _Score 1 for me_.

"HEY!"

Rose winced at the volume. _Hannah_.

"Is that Hannah?" Mum cocked her head. "Is she always that loud? I would think Caroline would be the loudest."

"Yes, I'm pretty sure it's Hannah," Rose rolled her eyes. "Only her voice is _that _high when she screams."

"Oh, Mer – dear," Mum said hastily. "Let's hope Lily isn't awake."

"CAROLINE! _MINION RUSH _WORKS!"

"Hannah… please stop screaming," pleaded Rose, knowing they couldn't hear her. _After trying to get out of the room… Hannah wakes her up. _

"OH MY GOD, _CANDY CRUSH_ AND THE _FROZEN EDITION_ ONE WORKS AS WELL!" shouted Caroline.

"I'll go up there and…" Rose trailed off, casting her Mum a weary look. _Caroline _and _Hannah. Joy. _

"I CAN WATCH _THE BOOK THIEF _NOW! OH MY GOD, IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE WATCHED IT!"

"Hannah!" hissed Rose. "Caroline! Hush up, will you! Lily, Al', James, Hugo, Sophie, Uncle Harry, Dad, and Aunt Ginny are still… oh…"

"What's with all the ruckus?" Albus rubbed his eyes, appearing from his room, followed by James. They both had an extreme case of bedhead – most likely inherited from Uncle Harry.

"Oh, it's snowing!" cried Lily, bounding down the stairs two at a time.

"Lily, stop!" Rose rushed to her younger cousin, trying to stop her. "You'll hurt yourself!"

"DAD!" Lily shrieked in happiness. "MUM! I need to go play! Let me play with some of my Muggle friends! Mum, come on, please let me! His name was… was…"

"Xander, was it?" offered Albus, getting some milk. "Nine year old Muggle."

"How do you know more about him then _I _do?" huffed Lily. "He's _my _friend."

"Pay attention when he's speaking then, Lils," Albus said. "Then maybe you'll know."

"Have breakfast first, Lily," ordered Uncle Harry, walking in from the front door with a newspaper. "Then we'll see."

"Where's breakfast?" Lily asked, seating herself at the table.

"Catch, Lils," James tossed a cereal box at Lily, ready to catch it –

The box froze in midair, Aunt Ginny's wand firmly pointed at it. "James. You _do not _toss things in the house."

"Yes, Mum," James sat down and poured his cereal into a bowl he'd snatched from Albus.

"Hey, give that back, James!" scowled Albus. "Get your own bowl!"

"Sorry, Al', but first come first serve."

"At what?" said Albus outraged. "My things?"

"It's not yours, technically."

"Yes, but – argh!"

Albus seemed to give it up as a lost cause and reluctantly reached for another bowl from the cupboard.

Rose sighed. "James, just give it back to him."

James poured milk on to his cereal. "Why should I? See, he's already getting another one and everything. Plus I have cereal and milk in this one."

"Well, don't steal it from Albus next time!"

"Rose, let go of it," coaxed her Aunt.

"Why are you making such a big deal about this?! Albus isn't!" James pointed out, ignoring his Mum.

Rose barely noticed him looking at the floor and mumbling. "It's fine."

"Because Albus is too much of a pansy to stick up for himself!" she shouted, trembling with rage.

"Hey!" Albus said indignantly. "I am _not _a pansy!"

"Don't you dare talk about your cousin that way!" scolded Mum furiously.

Rose ignored this and she stormed out the front door, not bothering to put on a jacket.

* * *

Rose sat heavily on a swing in the yard, snow gently falling on her head. She didn't notice the cold. James was so _insolent. _It was ridiculous how he thought he could do whatever he liked! Thinking he was so great, boasting half the time, mindlessly snogging the other.

"... Rosie…?"

"What is it?" she demanded brusquely. Rose looked over to see Lily, with the barest hints of tears forming in her eyes.

"Oh, Lily… I'm sorry. I'm just… a little upset right now," she slipped off the swing and hugged her cousin. "How do you deal with such a brother?"

Lily laughed through the few stray tears running down her cheeks. "I don't know. He's a big prick, isn't he?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "That he is. That he is.."

"Albus is jealous of him," Lily said suddenly.

"What?" scoffed Rose. "What is he jealous _of_?"

"Yeah, it's true," Lily confirmed. "I think he wants to be as liked as big brother James."

"Well… maybe," Rose decided. "Come on, let's go inside. You must be very cold!"

"No, not really," shrugged Lily. "I like snow."

"Be that as it may, you're going to get sick! And I don't like the cold very much," Rose scowled.

"You're sometimes worse than Mum, Rosie," Lily grumbled. "I mean, at least Mum can do a good Bat Bogey hex."

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to look out for you!"

"That's alright, Rosie," Lily leaned her head against Rose's shoulder. "I can't wait 'til I go to Hogwarts. Are there cute boys there?"

"Sure, Lily," Rose said, deciding to humor the younger girl. "But you're _ten. _Get a grip, Lils. Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry will make sure you will _not _date anyone 'til fifth year."

"Mum dated a lot of boys," defended Lily. "And all of them were really cute back then!"

"Lily…" Rose didn't know what to say. "How would you know?"

"Because!" Lily said, a grin on her face. "I'm _younger _than you, that's how!"

"How does _that _make any sense?" Rose questioned.

"Nothing does in the lovely Wizarding World, Rosie," Lily said, spouting 'Words of Wisdom'. "Insanity runs the world by now."

"True," nodded Rose. "True…"

"Do you still want to go inside? Aunt Hermy's cooked up some waffles," offered her cousin.

She laughed. "Of course."

"You won't yell at anyone else?" Lily looked anxious.

"I'll try not to. Promise."

Lily grinned ear to ear and grabbed Rose by the hand. "Let's go then!"

She was dragged back into the house, where Rose could see James down the hall.

They stared at each other silently.

"R-Rosie?" asked Lily tentatively. "James?"

"I'm sorry," said Rose finally.

"I'm sorry too," said James.

"Can _I_ get an apology from both of you?" questioned Albus crossly.

"Sorry," they said in unison, then laughed. The tension broken, Rose headed down the hall after a skipping Lily.

"Are the waffles ready yet, Mum?"

"Yes," she said warily. "But I want to have a talk with you."

She firmly steered her daughter out into the hall, where the Potters couldn't hear them.

Her Mum exhaled. "Rose, what have I told you about controlling your temper?" she asked sternly.

"Close your eyes, count to ten and think of something peaceful," Rose chuntered under her breath. "But Mum, it's not that easy! I can't just _stop_ being mad. I forget to calm down. I just want to prove my point."

Her mother ran her fingers through wavy chestnut locks. "I think you inherited this temper from me and your father, you know. I used to be very bossy when I was younger. And I especially hated rulebreakers."

"Even though you frequently broke rules yourself."

Rose's father, a tall freckled man with the trademark red hair of the Weasley family, kissed Mum on the cheek and ruffled Rose's hair. "What are my two darlings doing at this hour?"

"Rose was… shouting at James again."

"James is a tad big headed, isn't he? I see why you and him don't get along."

"Ron!"

"What? It's true."

"Well then keep your voice down! He's only down the hall, you know."

"Everyone's already up? Great! Good morning, all!" he shouted into the kitchen.

Her Mum shook her head. "That's your father for you. Anyway, I'll let you off the hook this time, but try not to lose control next time, alright?"

"Okay, Mum."

"Good. Now, run along. I don't want to keep you hungry."

"Thank you, Mum!"

She smiled and pushed Rose towards the kitchen. "I'll join you in a while…I just need to fix up my hair."

Rose dashed to the kitchen and plucked a plate and cutlery out of an open cupboard, humming. She really couldn't help herself with her anger, it just…came out of her and she couldn't stop it.

Still humming, she scooped three pancakes onto her plate and poured herself a generous measure of maple syrup. Rose plonked down next to her Dad and cut out a mouthful.

"Mmm… when are we leaving, Dad?"

"We're actually staying for the entire break, Rose. Me and your mother will be going back to our place after lunch to pick up some things, do you want to come?"

"No, it's fine, Dad," Rose assured. "I've got everything I need in my trunk."

"We'll get your brother too."

"Now I don't want to go even more!" protested Rose. "I want to spend some time with Hannah, Sophie, Albus!"

"Oh, you don't hate Hugo that much!" cried her mother.

"Well, no. But you know how hyper he is in the morning," stated Rose matter-of-factly. "I mean, he and Lily are like _twins _then!"

"Have it your way!"

Rose scraped the last vestiges of syrup off her plate. "Hey, James?"

Her cousin swept his raven hair out of his eyes, probably something that made the sillier girls swoon. "Yep?"

"How many broomsticks do you have?"

"What, you aren't thinking of Quidditch, are you? I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"Ha, ha, very funny. No, I'm pretty sure Lily is, because she looks like she's going to explode."

Uncle Harry chuckled. "Yes, Lils, you may go play outside if you like. Be sure to wear your jacket, hat, scarf, mittens and boots, and don't let the Muggles see you on your broomstick!"

But Lily wasn't listening. She was staring off into space with a vacant expression.

"Er, Lily? You alright?" asked Rose nervously.

"Can I dye my hair?"

"What?" said Aunt Ginny, completely thrown by the question.

"Mum, Mum!" she said excitedly. "I want to dye my hair pink, like Vickie's! But all of it! Can I dye all my hair pink?"

"Of course not, Lily!" Aunt Ginny said, still a bit confused in _why _Lily wanted to dye her hair that colour.

"What? W-why not?"

"Goodness, whatever made you think you could in the first place?" Aunt Ginny said to Lily. "You either have to get it permanent or temporary, and I don't much like either."

"B-but I –" Lily sputtered.

"Lily! If it's temporary, it will look awful after a couple of days, and if it's permanent, well, I don't think you're ready to make a decision for the rest of your life!" Lily looked like she was going to interrupt, but Aunt Ginny quickly forged on. "Heaven knows, you'll be wanting white in the next minute."

Lily frowned. "No, white will make me look like Grandma Molly."

"Young lady, you are _not _getting highlights no matter what," Aunt Ginny said firmly.

And then Lily surprised everyone by balling up her fists, squeezing her eyes shut, and turning all her hair coral pink.

"It has to be underage magic…" whispered Rose to James. "There is _no way _she is a Metamorphmagus. I mean, Teddy isn't even part of the family!... by blood, at least."

"_Really_? Although I think she looks rather sweet with that color; perhaps she'll follow in my footsteps." James said fondly.

Rose looked revolted. "Heavens forbid."

"You sound like Grandma Molly," James told her, which earned him a punch to the gut. "Ow! Sorry… sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"Go Lily!" cheered Caroline. "Love your… hair? I guess. It's… erm, nice!"

"Rebels are awesome," Hannah informed her.

"Your hair is nice like that," Sophie told Lily. "I wish we could add glitter to it."

"Can you?"

"No, we're not allowed," Sophie said. "Sorry."

This barely dampened Lily's mood, as she pranced around the kitchen. "Look, Mum, Dad, Rosie! My hair's pink! _It's pink!_ Al', Jamie – do you see this? I look beautiful! Just like a pretty princess!"

"Hermione, _please _tell me you know a spell that will get her hair back to her original colour. Forever, is preferable," Aunt Ginny said desperately. "I _do not _want my _only daughter_ with _pink hair_."

"Oh, yes… we learned this in Charms," Mum told Aunt Ginny. "_Colovaria_."

Slowly (Lily tried to make her hair pink, resisting Mum's magic) Lily's hair turned back to its original shade of red.

"No!" wailed Lily. "Why'd you do that, Aunt Hermy? My hair was beautiful! It took all my anger and sadness to do that! It'll take forever to do that again! Please tell me the spell you cast isn't permanent!"

James leaned over and tapped her on the head. "Don't worry. They won't be there to change it at Hogwarts."

"Oh, yay!" squealed Lily. "Two more years, two more years, _two more years_!"

"James! Do not encourage your sister!" ordered Uncle Harry, who had up to this point been watching with mild amusement.

Mum knelt to Rose's height and whispered to her, "It's not permanent. Just don't tell Lily that."

"Okay, Mum," Rose grinned. She knew she was going to tell her cousin as soon as the adults got out of earshot.

* * *

"What're we going to do over the break?" Hannah asked Rose. "I mean, I've heard Lily's got her Customary friend...Xavier? No, Xander. James is goofing off with Albus on broomsticks (Albus is failing, mind you) and the adults have going shopping. I mean, I don't mind that, but I'd rather go clothes shopping and – and –"

"Hannah, _I've got it_," Rose said firmly, shooting a glance at Albus. "Maybe we could go sledding. Or have a snowball fight."

"Does it involve –?"

"Please, shut up, Caroline," Sophie said, firmly. "I don't want to deal with this _now_. And sure. Sledding and slash or a snowball fight sounds good."

"Whatever," shrugged Hannah. "Just _don't _throw a snowball at me _anywhere _or I will _burn _off your eyebrows."

"Why eyebrows, Hannah?" Caroline asked. "I mean, there's your hair, your, your, your…"

"So would you prefer your hair or your eyebrows?"

"Hair!" shouted Caroline, leading her and Sophie to erupt in uncontrollable giggles while Hannah rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Messed up."

Sophie finished giggling and hiccoughed. "So, where are the sleighs?"

"Er…" hesitated Rose. "Al', where are the sleighs?"

Her cousin swooped over her head on a broomstick and jerked to an unsteady halt, nearly throwing himself off. "Dunno. Have you tried looking in the – ow!"

Albus really did fall off the broomstick as a large snowball hit him square in the back of the head

"I – er – I – _ooff_! Hey!" Rose spun around, looking wildly for the person who hit her with a snowball.

Hannah started whistling, leading Rose to pick up some snow and about to toss it at her –

"Excuse me?!" protested Hannah. "I didn't do it! I'm trying to practice my whistling. _Duh_. It was Caroline!"

"No, it wasn't!" Caroline argued. "It was Dopey!"

Sophie looked up from her feet. "What? I didn't throw anything – argh!"

Caroline had thrown a succession of snowballs at her. "Dopey!" she shrieked. "IT WAS YOU! What the – POTTER BOY! I'M GOING TO KILL – mff!"

James cackled madly as his snowball went down Caroline's throat. "Gotcha!".

"Why, you –"

"What?" smirked James. "Potter Boy? Haven't heard that before." He flew low over the ground and scooped up two handfuls of fresh snow.

"Please, please, _please_, tell me we're allowed to use magic on this jerkhead."

"Jerkhead?" James cocked his head and threw another at her, Caroline narrowly dodging the projectile. "Is that what you call jerks in America?"

"Nope," Caroline said popping the 'P'. "We use it to give you extremely bad luck!"

"Who made that one up?"

"A friend – er – acquaintance of mine," Caroline corrected. "It's totally fool-proof, but she – Autumn – says 'Jerkface', and it works _loads _better. Never fails."*

"Sure, sure – ARGH!"

His broom flipped over as he almost hit the ground, only managing to grip the handle by one hand.

"What did I tell you, Potter?" taunted Caroline. She muttered to Sophie, "Man, I wish Autumn was here."

"Is that your 'lucky' friend?" James said still trying to get on the broom properly. "Al! Help me!"

"Sorry, James," Albus shrugged. "I am _never _going on a broom. _Again_."

"Jump!" Caroline encouraged. "It's only like ten… fifteen… twenty feet!"

"Has _death _no meaning to you?"

"Nope!" cackled Caroline. "I'm _immortal_."

"Do you have the Philosopher's Stone or something?" asked Rose, trying to find ways to help her cousin.

"No, I just am."

"Americans are weird," concluded Albus.

"I'm a Canadian," piped Sophie.

"And I'm a Mexican," said Hannah.

"So?" James said, still trying to get a proper grasp on the broom.

"Just FYI," Sophie shrugged. "When you're referring to us as group, _don't _call us Americans."

"Capish?" Hannah asked.

"But I can't just say bloody American, Canadian, Mexican, can I?" whined James. "I mean, that's a waste of precious time!"

"There is a DIFFERENCE between American and Mexican!" exclaimed Hannah. "A _big _difference!"

"And Canadian," added Sophie. "Please, do _not _mix us up! I find it slightly offensive to be called an American."

"Yeah, _slightly_? That's just Le Dope." Hannah remarked. "I feel _really _offended!"

"Can you just get me down?"

"Can we just leave you hanging?"

"No! Of course not! I'm losing my grip and we're having this silly conversation?"

"Then there's your answer," said Caroline. She turned to Rose."Rose do we _have _to get him down?"

"As much of a prick he is, he _is _my cousin, and it would be a bit of a shame if he died from a _broom _accident," sighed Rose. "Damn, the adults are gone, we all suck at flying, what the heck do we do?"

"TELL YOUR BROOM TO LOWER YOU," screamed Hannah. "OH MY GOD, IT'S SO OBVIOUS! _ESTUPIDO_**, MUCH?!"

"Why didn't you suggest that earlier, then?"

"Why would I need to?! It's common sense! I'm starting to think you're as dumb as Dopey!"

"That may be true, sadly …" murmured Sophie.  
"Wait, you _agree _to this?" Rose said astounded.

Sophie cracked a smile. "As long as I don't sink to sparkly Edward Cullen level, I am _good_."

"Edward Cullen?" Albus looked confused.

"DO NOT READ TWILIGHT,"*** shouted Caroline. "It scarred my eleven year old… ness for _life_."

"He's the dude who looked like Callum? No, Cedric Diggory!"**** Sophie slapped her forehead. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's his name. He played Seeker, I think, for Hufflepuff."

"Cedric Diggory," mused James. "I think Mum or Dad mentioned him once."

"Or maybe it was Aunt Angelina…" Albus added. "Or Uncle George… I don't think Uncle George liked him much."

"Didn't he also mention that he died?"

"Al, that's _horrible_!" Rose said shocked. "Don't say that so matter-of-factly!"

"If Uncle George doesn't like him, I don't either," shrugged James. "He was probably a goody-two shoes following rules… Prefect… Head-Boy…"

"Somebody's jealous," noted Rose.

"As if!" James rolled his eyes. "I'm either going to be a professional Quidditch player or do a joke shop like Uncle George did."

"What wonderful careers," Rose said sarcastically. She backtracked. "Actually a Quidditch player isn't that bad."

"See?"

"No, we do not!" Caroline said, as she chucked another snowball at James, hitting him dead on the centre of his face.

"Ow!" James said wiping the snow from his face. "Stop it!"

"Really? That all you got?" said Caroline mischieviously. "Don't you enjoy the cold… _soft_… snow?"

"As a matter of fact, _I don't_," James said firmly. "I prefer – what the heck are you saying?"

"Jerkhead!" she shrieked. "Jerkhead, jerkhead, jerkhead!"

"Stop it!" James put his hands over his ears. "That is the _most annoying _word ever!"

"Now you know how we feel every time we hear your voice," Caroline shot back. "Actually you'll _never _know how annoying you are."

"If I didn't know better – ah! – I would think you – argh! – liked – eh! – me!" James said blocking the snowballs thrown by Albus, Hannah, Rose and occasionally Sophie.

Caroline stopped immediately. "_What _did you say, Potter Boy? _What _did you say?!"

"I said if I didn't know better, I would think that – ARGHHH!"

Rose looked at Caroline and James, amused, as Caroline pelted James with snowballs. Poor James even got one down his shirt, making him jump. Rose laughed, as she, Hannah, Albus, and Sophie started to join in – hitting James with massive amount of snowballs, that is.

* * *

"Two more hours!" sang Rose. "One more hour 'til it is officially Christmas Day!"

"Midnight," Hannah said. "Midnight, Rose."

"Yes. Then it is Chri-i-i-istmas Da-a-ay!" she sang to the darkness, before realizing that she might wake her parents.

"Do you stay up on New Year's Eve too?" Sophie questioned.

"No, I just like to stay up on Christmas Eve," Rose said simply. "I don't really like to stay up on New Years."

"Why?"

"Should get a proper rest before a new year," shrugged Rose. "But Mum and Dad _and _my little brother Hugo make me stay up on New Years."

"I've got a younger brother," Sophie smiled. "I know the feeling."

"Me too," added Caroline.

"Two younger sisters," said Hannah. "Really annoying. They always want me to play games with them… so messed up. Also, the middle one hates me."

"Hannah!" Sophie said, looking scandalized. "You shouldn't insult your siblings behind their backs!"

"I'm not technically behind them," retorted Hannah. "I could be sideways to them or in front of them, or even diagonal to them."

Sophie rolled her eyes, her expression reading, _Typical_. "So I can say anything mean, but I can't be behind the said person's back?"

"Yes!" Hannah said. "You're finally getting somewhere! I knew you weren't _that _stupid!... actually, I take that back. You can be."

"Thanks," Sophie said, sarcastically. "I feel so loved."

"Yay!" Caroline slung her arm around Sophie's neck and squeezed, much like a headlock. "Sophie feels loved!"

"... and that's a good thing?" Hannah asked confused. "I mean, Sophie… feels loved? Other than her family?"

Caroline considered it for a moment then shrugged. "Want to play Truth or Dare?"

"What have I got to lose?" shrugged Sophie. "I mean the worse you could do is… ah-h-h. I shouldn't go there."

"No!" Hannah said forcefully. "I am not insane enough –"

"We're representatives, Hannah!" Caroline said mock cheerfully. "We're all insane! More insane than Brits!"

"I feel highly –"

Caroline interrupted James. "Offended, la, la, la, I don't give a damn."

"I don't like Caroline much," James muttered to Sophie.

"No boys do," Sophie responded. "If they were, they would be even crazier than Caroline herself."

"Joy," Albus said dryly. "So who's starting Truth or Dare?"

"Oh! Oh! Pick me!" Caroline said, waving her hand, madly. "You know what? Screw you. Albus, Truth or Dare? Also, no chicken outs."

"Er…"

"Don't pick Dare!" Sophie warned.

"Don't pick Truth!" Hannah said at the same time.

Albus shook his head hopelessly. "Erm… Truth?"

"Most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?" Caroline smirked. "And something your family doesn't know."

"I – uh – I…" Albus started blushing beetroot red, obviously visible even in the dim light of Rose's wand.

Rose started to lean in, curious, as she watched her cousin trying to avoid the stares of everyone surrounding him. _What did he do?_

"I, er, do I have to answer this question?" stammered Albus. He started to pale, now, as he probably thought of the prospect of telling everyone.

"Yes, Albus," Caroline said impatiently. "It's Truth or Dare. Don't be like Hannah."

"I, um… well…"

"Hurry up!" Caroline said, her voice a bit harsh. "It can't be as bad as Dope's!"

"I, er… well, one morning – somewhere in the middle of November!" added Albus, hastily, as he saw Caroline's mouth open to interrupt him. She nodded, satisfied. "I, er, was fairly tired, and I just walked down to the Common Room – several girls were there – and I realized I… I wasn't properly dressed."

Hannah burst into giggles, trying to stifle them with her mouth. "You've _got _to be kidding me – right?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Caroline snorted, laughing. Sophie looked like she was choking on her snickers and James full out laughed, until Rose shushed him.

"Quiet! Someone might hear you and come looking," Rose scowled. "We don't want that, do we? Anyways, Al, your turn."

"Hannah, Truth or Dare?"

"Do I _have _–"

"_Yes_," hissed Caroline. "Don't be a chicken!"

"What if I am!" Hannah whispered angrily. "Fine. Truth."

"Wimp," murmured Caroline to Sophie.

Hannah grit her teeth, as she looked at Albus, her gaze hard. "_Truth_, Second Potter Boy."

"So we've got –"

"Caroline, shut up."

"I know this is lame, but who's Autumn?" Albus asked. "I'm wondering, that's all. And how did she come up with 'Jerkface'?"

"Autumn's an acquaintance –"

"Friend –" Sophie interrupted.

"Person –" Caroline filled in.

"– who I met… through Sophie. She's cool," shrugged Hannah, "I guess, Caroline and her get along, ish… ly, mainly because they have a backbone… she's nice… ish, I guess. I mean, a few guys like her… but she's as insane as us, yet teachers dote on her."

"Especially Mr. Mildenstein," Sophie said, her face scrunched up, thinking hard. "He loved her. But she always… ish denied it. Also, Mr. Morron."

"There's a teacher called _Mr. Morron_?"

"Yup," Sophie said. " But that's old news. I've known Autumn for more than half my life, and we're still writing letters to each other."

"Also, 'Jerkface'and 'Jerkhead' ," explained Caroline, "Is something she made up, and it winds up her best friend, Eulalie, like crazy. It's a 'charm' – somehow _not _involving magic – that works better than magic itself, which drives Eulalie insane. She just can't understand _how _it happens, and finally concludes Autumn is 'luckier' than the second-luckiest person alive, 'cause she's the first."

"And," Sophie said hastily, "Before you ask, 'Jerkhead' is an _extremely _powerful 'charm' that works whenever _Autumn _says it and grants a person/team _extremely _good luck or very, very bad luck. 'Jerkface' is a bit more powerful and unpredictable. I mean, she uses it in Phys. Ed. – the 'Jerkhead'/'Jerkface' I mean – and whenever she's on a team, that team's is most likely bound to win."

"Why most likely?" Rose asked, greatly confused by this. "Shouldn't the luckiest person be able to win _every _match?"

"That's thanks to Eulalie," Hannah rolled her eyes. "She's always on the same team as Autumn, and she brings forth the _worst _luck in history. Whenever we play – when we had time to hang out with them, I mean – 'Go Fish' or 'Crazy Eights' or 'President' or any other card game, Autumn would nearly always win and Eulalie would nearly always lose."

"That sucks," James deadpanned.

"Ah," Albus said, trying not to look confused. "Moving on. Hannah, your turn."

"Hah!" cheered Hannah. "Er, sorry," she excused herself when Rose and Albus shushed her. She grinned devilishly.

"James! Truth or Dare?"

"Dare!" James answered confidently. "I'm a true Gryffindor!" Albus and Rose promptly shushed him too.

Hannah grinned as leaned towards him and whispered into his ear.

"Uh oh…" Sophie said.

James looked horrified as his gaze switched between Caroline and Hannah. "You want me to… you want me to… no. No. No. No."

"Where's the 'Gryffindor' now?" taunted Hannah. She glanced at Sophie and smirked. "I am _truly _evil."

"What'd you dare him to do?" Sophie asked warily.

"Oh, you'll see."

James looked uncomfortable as he stood up and sat next to Caroline. "Hey, erm, you look really nice – I mean nicer than usual –"

Caroline's expression grew from confused, to understanding, to horrified, to anger. She slammed her fist right into James' nose.

"What the bloody HE –!" James yelled, rubbing his nose as he winced.

"Try and flirt with me again," Caroline warned, her glare deadly, "Dare or not, I will _string you up _and flay you alive"

Hannah giggled. She obviously wanted James in pain.

"Will you keep it down?!" hissed Rose, her eyes sparking menacingly. "Amusing as this may be, it's not gonna be funny for long if Dad pops up."

Everyone reluctantly grumbled assent. "Well, good. James, go.'

"Alright! Sophia, truth or dare?"

"Dare, dare, dare, dare!" chanted Caroline and Hannah. "Don't be a wimp like Albus!"

"Truth."

Hannah pushed her. "No! You're supposed to say dare, Dopey!"

"I value my life," Sophie answered simply.

"Okay, then! Dare it is!" chirped James.

"I said _truth!_"

A smile unfurled on his lips. "I dare you to kiss the most handsome person in this room."

Hannah and Caroline cheered.

"I'm eleven!" Sophie protested. "Also, I want my first kiss to be _special_."

Rose ripped off a large piece of duct tape from a roll and glared at them all.

James leaned in and smiled. "You agreed to play this."

"I. SAID. TRUTH!"

Rose smacked the tape onto Sophie's mouth. "Next person to shout gets tied to a bed." she snarled.

"Aw, Rose! How is she supposed to kiss me or Albus with tape over her lips? Screw Albus. I'm obviously the better looking one."

"She could be a lesbian. Or bisexual. How would you know?"

James rolled his eyes as he leaned forward even more. "Fine then. Are you lesbian, bisexual or straight?"

Sophie snatched up a notebook from the nightstand she was leaning against as well as a pen. Rose focused her wand's light on her spindly writing, which read:

_Good night! I am __not__ discussing this with people I barely know. Next time, I'm not playing any stupid Truth-Or-Dare things with you._

"Wait, Sophie!" Rose protested. "Thirty minutes to midnight. I wanna open my presents with you. Plus, yours are bound to be good."

Sophie slowly tore off the tape from her lips, wincing. "Wha… mine?" she said, slightly rawly. "I'm getting presents?"

"Of course you are! Did you expect not to?"

"Well - I - no, I mean, you didn't have to get us gifts! It - it's enough of a present to have us stay over…"

"Where were you going to stay otherwise? Really, it's nothing."

"I'll take your present if you want," offered Albus. He dodged a swipe from Rose.

"I want it!" cried Hannah.

"If it's Dopey's, it's probably not worth it," sniffed Caroline.

"Hey!" Sophie said indignantly. "As if _yours_ –"

"Are probably going to be _so _much better," Caroline finished for her. "We _might _share."

Hannah and Caroline put their heads together and leaned back to Sophie and chorused, "NEVER."

Rose got another piece of duct tape and tried to slap it on Caroline's mouth. "Mwahaha, never! I am immortal! Try and get Hannah!"

"Don't. You. Dare."

"I won't."

"Good," Hannah said satisfied. She leaned back, her back against the wall. "When's midnight?"

Rose shrugged and raised her wand to her watch. "Twenty-five minutes."

"Why is time being so sl-l-l-l-o-o-o-o-w-w?" Caroline scowled on. "I want my pre-e-e-e-esents-s-s."

"Patience is virtue," Sophie quoted. She tapped her forehead. "That's a quote from _somewhere_."

Hannah scrunched up her nose. "What does 'virtue' even mean?"

"Virtue," Rose said promptly, as if she swallowed a dictionary. "Behavior showing high moral standards."

"Ten bucks that's from Google," snickered Caroline.

"Probably," Sophie said. "Google knows _everything_."

"What's Google?" James asked, fascinated.

"First Minion Rush, now _Google_?" Caroline said, her face incredulous. "Gods, you. Are. Sad."

James frowned. "No, I'm pretty sure I'm not."

"Not _that _sad," dismissed Hannah, reapplying alternating shades of Tyrian and Russian purple to her nails. "The pathetic sad."

"And, yes, there's a difference," Sophie said, before James interrupted.

"Then why not just say _pathetic?_"

Hannah, Caroline and Sophie stared at him.

"He doesn't get it," Caroline shaked her head. "Brits…"

"How many times are you going to –" said Albus.

"Don't offend the whole country, Caroline," reasoned Hannah. "It's Wizard Brits."

"And Witches," added Sophie. "No need to be sexist."

"We're right here, you know," Rose said, raising an eyebrow.

"And those _accents_," rambled Caroline, ignoring her. "Terrible."

"Okay, I think that's enough." said Sophie. "Caroline?"

"And why do they dress in robes?"

"_Caroline_."

"_What_?" asked Caroline, annoyed.

"Stop."

Caroline _humph_ed, and grumbled, but did as she was told.

"You're growing soft," noted Hannah coldly, slipping her bottles of polish into the pockets of her sweater.

"I am _not_!" was Caroline's indignant reply. "I am fully capable of pummeling James to a pulp if–"

"Okay, no need to do that!" James said hurriedly, not wanting to repeat the 'Snowball Incident'.

Caroline sniggered. "Let's see. Anyone have a coin?"

Albus dug out a bronze coin from underneath Rose's desk. "Will this do?"

She examined the Knut. "Completely mental, is what you are. Anyhow, Gandalf –"

"'Gandalf'?"

Caroline motioned to Hannah. "See? _See?_ They don't know who Gandalf is! That's crazy! Even you know who Gandalf is!"

Sophie conjured a wisp of blue energy and twirled it into a beard. "You...shall not pass!" she intoned, then laughed.

"You're not allowed to do underage –" said a scandalized Rose.

Sophie shrugged. "What the Ministry doesn't know won't hurt them. Also, look at your wand."

That shut Rose up.

"How are you doing that?" asked Albus. "Not getting caught by doing this?"

"Something Dad told me," grinned Rose.

"_Eh hem_. Continuing on, Gandalf – the wizard – means you get a free pass, and the dragon is _death_."

James shuddered and Sophie's beard vanished in an abrupt_ poof_.

"Caroline!" Rose chastised. "Don't actually kill him."

"Thanks," said her brother, grateful.

"Mum'll kill me." she continued.

"Hey!" objected James.

"You'll just knock him up a little bit, won't you?" said Sophie anxiously, to which James and Albus snorted. "What?"

"Well, um.." said Rose uncomfortably. She cleared her throat. "I don't know what it means in America – or Canada, whatever – or Mexico, but here it's slang for, well, eh … maybe you don't want to know."

"Could it be you actually still have _feelings _for the brat?" asked Caroline, a malevolent glint in her eye. "Guess I'll have to knock that out of you, too…well, time to decide. Will you, Hannah?"

"Sure." She flipped her raven hair over her shoulder and placed the coin on her fist. "Three, two...one!" It soared high into the air, watched by all, illuminated by the pure white light of Rose's wand, and then fell as suddenly as it had flew.

"What is it? What is it?" hissed Caroline.

"And now you are Gollum," noted Hannah.

"My precious!" wheezed Sophie, squinting.

Caroline ignored her and peered at the Knut. "Gandalf," she remarked sadly. "Oh well. Looks like you're lucky."

Sophie and James both breathed a sigh of relief.

"What time is it?" asked Hannah.

"15 more to midnight." checked Rose.

The impatient noirette growled. "Dammit! Is there anything else we can do?"

"How about cards?" suggested Hannah. She grinned. "We could play Cheat."

"Cheat! Cheat! Cheat! Yes!"

"We're all screwed." said Sophie.

"Why?"

"Because Caroline's strategy to win is to say 'cheat' every single damn time, so she has quads, efficiently–" Sophie tried to explain.

"Shush, Dopey!" Caroline said. "Don't give away all my secrets!"

So the six children played, Caroline gathering 38 cards (James was one away from winning, but dear Caroline made sure he didn't) as Caroline kept on laying quads.

"Quad eights!" announced Caroline. "Also, cheat, Sophie, cheat, Albus, cheat, Rose, cheat Hannah, cheat James, and quad aces!"

"Damn, how does she do that?" grumbled James.

"Pick up the cards!" sang Caroline, waving around 10 cards in his face.

"Alright, alright, I've got it!"

"Good. Sophie, go."

"One two."

"Hmmm."

"Albus, go."

"Two threes."

"Gods, this game is boring as heck," Hannah leaned her head back. "Can we just open our presents?"

Rose checked her clock. "Yup. Midnight's tw… one minute away."

"Let's _go_," urged Sophie. "We have to open presents now!... and I wanna sleep."

"Won't your parents be disappointed?"

"Nope," Rose replied. "We always open our presents in our rooms – Hugo and I, I mean – so Mum and Dad should be okay with it."

"Should be," breathed Hannah. Rose shot her a dirty look.

"C'mon, how we're going to sneak down, is the problem," Albus said.

"With super ninja skills," said Caroline, in a _duh _voice. "You don't know that? _Sadness_."

Albus just looked lost as Sophie gave him a sympthic look.

"Don't worry," assured Sophie. "I didn't get it either."

"It's neither!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Whatever," Sophie rolled her eyes. She leaned to Rose. "Is it either or neither?"

"Does it matter?" Rose slowly walked down the hallway. "Now, shh."

"Have you ever noticed that the person _shush_ingyou makes more –"

Rose swiftly interrupted Hannah by _shush_ing her once more. "C'mon, aren't you guys excited for presents?"

"Not particularly, no," shrugged Hannah.

"Party –"

"Shut up."

"Shutting up!" Sophie whimpered. "Also, Brits have Christmas trees?"

"Yes, we do."

As they made their way down the steps Rose whispered, "One at a time, get your presents. I'll go first."

Rose snuck down the steps, making sure not to step on any creaky steps. She heard a sharp noise behind her. "What the –?"

"AAH!" Caroline screamed as Sophie accidentally knocked into her. "LE DOP –"

"Caroli –!"

Suddenly the lights flickered on, making all the children freeze.

A very tired, grumpy Dad rubbed his eyes. "Bloody hell is going on?"

* * *

*Inside joke. If you get confused, sorry. It's hard to explain, but let's just say Caroline is… odd, and has her own 'Torture Chambers'. She uses it to taunt and torment Sophie. (Of course she never does it in real life… I hope).

**Stupid. In Spanish.

***Sorry, Twilight fans… our friend Caroline read it when she was eleven… yeah, she's not the same.

**** Anybody get it? XD. Cedric Diggory… Edward Cullen… click yet?

* * *

Disclaimer

We do not own anything you recognize.

**Author's Note**

Longest chapter yet! Oh my god, we just finished that today. Yay. Hoped you guys liked it.

Alright, thanks to Lupe (can we call you that?) for reviewing again. It makes us so happy. Thanks so much! (::) (::) (::) (::) Cookies for you!

And for all the other readers, thank you!

Remember, reviews, follows, and favourites are loved,

_BlueDaylighter & QuietlyImagining _


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